Battle of Forgiveness
by DegrassiIsMyLife123
Summary: Maya's life is finally normal for once, and Zig is dating Zoe Rivas, one of the most popular girls at school. One night, Zoe storms into Maya's room, telling Maya a secret that can easily change her relationship status with Zig from "Dating" to "Enemies". What is this deep secret of Zoe's, and what will Maya do about it?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay...so I got the idea for this three-shot from Mizz Degrassi, check her out! She makes really good Zaya stories. Her and I have been helping each other with our stories, she's amazing.**

**So this is my third story, I've been having fun making different stories other than one. **

**AND ALSO! So you don't get confused with this fanfic and the other Zoe/Zig/Maya fic I'm writing, I'm going to have a schedule. Every Thursday night, I will be updating THIS story, and every Monday night I will be updating "(Tell Me A) Dirty Little Secret". I know, having two fics that have the same characters in it going on at the same time is confusing, but I just loved this fic I wrote, and wanted to show it! But don't worry, I'm still going to continue on my other story(Dirty Little Secret), but I'll also be writing this one too :)**

**If it makes it easier to keep up with, just remember that "(Tell Me A) Dirty Little Secret" is about Zoe's cheerleading nudes story, and this story...well you'll find out ;)**

**I'm known for long intro's, aren't I? Okay, well I'm done...so you can read now :)**

**oOo**

(MAYA'S P.O.V.)

You can say my life was terribly normal for once.

_Shocking for Maya Matlin, right?_

Finally, Tristan and I were friends again. It was a terrible two months, not being friends with him, being enemies. We finally agreed to disagree on a lot of things, and luckily he gave me a second chance.

Him and Miles continued to date, or whatever they were doing. _Experimenting with fluid sexuality_, Frankie called it. It was painfully awkward to be around them, when they would kiss in the hallways, cuddle during Friday night movie nights. But I finally got over it, I was just happy I had my friends back.

Zig and Zoe have been dating for more than three months now, which was shocking. I found it hard to believe he can deal with her for that long.

Don't get me wrong, Zoe is one of my good friends. Call me fake, and I mean I guess I am, but there's just something off about her. She has that side to her, that side that's impossible to explain. She little head of hers held a lot of secrets - untold mysteries I called them.

You can say Zig and I are still good friends. Although, I haven't seem him much lately. I've been busy with Tristan, obviously. There was a lot of catching up to do with him. But surprisingly, I have been hanging out with Frankie a lot more often. Frankie and Zoe were enemies, so I had to make sure to watch what I said to both of them. Zig had been busy with Zoe, almost every single day. Every day she came over, after her practices. I kind of made it a habit to go to Frankie's a lot after school, so I wouldn't have to watch Zoe and Zig mush over how much they love each other.

To be honest, I was happy Zig had moved on from me. He seemed happy with Zoe, and that made me happy. I'm not going to lie, I get that little spark of jealousy in my stomach every time I see them together. It reminds me of the things I missed out on, I missed out on Zig. Zoe was a lucky girl to have him, he really treated her well.

Her treating him good, well, that was another story.

I was alone in my room on a Wednesday night, listening to my headphones, doing my homework on my bed. Zoe and Zig were in the living room, watching some movie on Netflix. Shockingly, I was understanding my Chemistry homework. I think it was because I was finally setting drama aside in my life, and actually focusing on my school work. That was a plus for Miss Maya Matlin.

_"Got a long list of ex lovers,"_ I sang to myself, writing down the answer to the last problem of the homework. _"They'll tell you I'm insane."_

I normally hated Taylor Swift, but her new song was pretty good.

_"But I gotta blank space baby,"_ I sang a little louder this time, slamming my book shut. _"And I'll write you're name!"_ I belted, grabbing my phone.

I rolled over, facing away from my door. I continued to belt the lyrics to the song, that I didn't even hear a knock on my door.

_"Maya!"_ I heard someone yell. I jumped, startled. I twisted myself around, taking the headphones out of my ears. I was shocked to see Zoe nervously close the door behind her, locking it.

"What's up?" I asked, concerned as to why she was in my room rather than being with Zig.

"Zig is in the shower," she stuttered, taking a seat on my bed. I moved my books out of the way, putting my phone to the side.

"What's going on? You seem tense." I raised my eyebrow. She sighed, and didn't say anything for a couple seconds. She continued to fiddle with her fingers, I didn't even notice there were tears in her eyes until she looked up at me.

"I made a really _stupid_ mistake," she whispered, trying to fight back her tears.

"Zoe...what's happening?" I questioned, getting a nervous feeling in my gut. She sniffled, whipping her nose. I quickly got a tissue from my night stand and handed it to her, and she immediately took it and brushed it against her red cheeks.

"I just...I need to talk to someone about this." She laid the tissue aside, looking up at me with tired eyes. "Other than the cheering squad, you're the only friend I have."

I looked at her, trying to find any sign in her eyes as to what she was about to tell me. She looked terrified.

"Okay..." I went on, expecting her to continue on with what she was going to tell me.

"You're going to _hate_ me," she frowned, beginning to cry again. I didn't know if I should hug her, take her hand, or just to sit there.

"Zoe just tell me what's going on."

She took a deep breath.

"Okay, look. I know you and Zig are close, but can you just...keep this from him, until I build the courage to tell him?"

I slowly nodded my head, unsure about what she was going to say next.

"I'm so dumb, Maya. I'm so _freaking stupid._" She started, beginning to cry again. "I just...I didn't know what I was thinking. I was just caught up in the moment and..."

"Zoe..."

"I had s-sex with someone who wasn't Zig."

Her words took me off guard, as she began sobbing. This time, I was sure I didn't want to hug her, or comfort her.

"The power squad and the football team were just at the Dot after our huge victory Saturday night, and Matt, the quarterback, and I just began talking and..." She gasped, trying to catch her breath through her sobs. "And we went back to his house and we...we just did it."

_Oh..._

I didn't know if I was shocked, or if I saw this coming.

_"Oh my god,"_ I whispered, trying to control the sudden anger building up inside of me. Oh, how I wanted to slap that bitch across the face.

"I...I didn't even like it. I mean, I don't know." Her words stumbled.

"It doesn't matter if you liked it or not, Zoe." I scowled "It's still_ cheating."_

"I know, I know and I feel like such a witch for doing it." She cried, looking up at me helplessly. "I never felt this much regret in my entire life."

I had no idea what to say. As much as it bothered me to admit it, Zoe was my friend. She helped me when I was having panic attacks about Miles, and ever since then we just clicked. But what she did, was incredibly wrong.

I was lost at words and action.

"I've been worried sick about it, it makes me want to throw up every time I think about it." She sighed, taking another tissue from my bedside table. "I just can't build myself up to telling him."

"Why did you do it?" Was all I asked. She looked at me, without saying anything for a second.

"Honestly, I don't know." She cried again. "But please, Maya. _Please_ don't tell Zig."

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Please," she begged again.

"I...I don't know, Zoe. Zig is one of my best-"

"This is hardly _any_ of your business," Zoe suddenly was off of my bed, standing up. "I should have _never_ told you. What the hell was I thinking?" She yelled through her tears.

"Zoe..." I sighed, getting off of my bed, walking towards her.

"No, no I um..I have to go." Zoe panicked. "Don't say a word to him, Maya. If you were my friend you wouldn't say anything to him." She pointed her pointer finger at me, and I was shocked to feel somewhat scared of her words.

And just like that she was out of my room.

I stood there, completely lost about what just happened. Zoe cheated on Zig, _cheated._ Zoe, one of my good girlfriends, cheated on my best guy friend. If that doesn't call for a huge cake that has the letters "trouble" spelled out on top of it, I don't know what it calls for then.

But I do know that I felt guilty when I whispered _bitch_ underneath my breath.

It was like all of the normal in my life just vanished before my eyes. Here I go again, in the middle of a messy situation._ Wow, shocking Maya!_

I continued to stand there, staring at myself in my body mirror in front of me. Almost everything in me wanted to go into Zig's room and tell him everything that Zoe just said, but a small part of me held the angry part of me back.

Zig would be absolutely_ torn_ if I told him, especially if I was the one to tell him. Like Zoe said, _this was none of my business, right?_

Some part of me kept telling myself that I was involved, she cheated on my best friend.

I was brought back to reality when Zig slowly walked into my room.

"Uh, do you know where Zoe went?" He asked me, looking around my room. "She just left."

My mind was racing. So much of me wanted to tell him the information that Zoe just threw at me.

"Um, I think she said she had..." I stuttered, unsure of what excuse to say. "I think one of the girls got hurt on the squad." I quickly blurted out any excuse that first came to my mind.

Zig eyed me. It bugged me how much he knew me, he could tell any lie I was telling the second it came out of my mouth. We stared at each other for what felt like hours. Oh, just stop looking at me with those eyes, Zig Novak. You're killing me.

_Like seriously, you're killing me Zig. Look away, look away please._

"Okay," he finally said, which shocked me. Zig always knew when I was lying, always. And I had liar written all over my forehead. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

I quickly nodded my head, beginning to walk over to my bed. I put my headphones back in my ears, and he watched.

He finally walked out, closing the door behind him. I watched the door slowly close, and when I saw it fully close, I sighed.

I had just full out lied to my best friend.

I looked down at all of the homework I still had yet to do, but none of seemed appealing anymore. I felt sick, and guilty.

_Come on, Maya. Focus._

I picked up my pencil, opening my Algebra book. This homework wasn't going to finish itself.

oOo

**UH OH!**

**Poor Zig...**

**Hmm, how will Zig react to this? Will Zig even find out? Who knows...**

**Want to see more of this? Well, let me know in the Reviews! Gosh, I'm loving this story :)**

**xoxo, beauties :)**


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. It felt like at any second my head will just come out of my head...and you can tell I'm in a lot of pain because that did not make sense one bit.

I rubbed my eyes, which only made the pain worse. I reached for my phone, which laid on the night stand. The bright light almost blinded me, as I saw the time. I had only twenty minutes to get up, get ready and leave.

"_Oh my god_," I moaned, throwing my phone on the floor and rubbing my temples.

"What's wrong, hon?" I heard my mom say at the door, beginning to walk in.

"I feel like I'm going to _die_." I cried, and she chuckled.

"I don't know about dying just yet," she put her hand on my forehead to check my temperature. "You're not hot,"

Just then I realized I had a huge History test today, that I've been studying for for almost a week now. I removed the covers from my body, slowly getting up.

"Woah, hold it right there trooper," my mom raised her hand. "Are you sure you're good to go to school?"

I grabbed my forehead, slowly nodding. I got on my feet, walking out of my room and into the bathroom Zig and I shared.

I saw the door closed with the light on.

_Crap_, Zig always got his fair share of time in the bathroom at this time. That's how the schedule worked - I would get the bathroom for the first thirty minutes in the morning, and he would get the rest.

I knocked on the door, and Zig opened it, with a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Scoot over," I said, getting my toothbrush out of the holder.

"Someone woke up late," he scoffed, spitting out.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I put toothpaste on my toothbrush, and then looked at Zig through the mirror.

Everything that happened last night came back to me - Zoe told me about her cheating on Zig. I felt like such a terrible friend for not telling him. Zoe didn't deserve such a good guy like Zig.

_School_ - I kept reminding myself. My school work was more important right now. If I wanted to get my life in order again, I needed to start by boosting my D's to A's.

Looking at Zig, I realized how hurt he would be if he found out. If anyone had a bigger heart, it was him. Although I always had a feeling he still had just a spark of feelings for me, I knew he loved Zoe also.

"Is anything wrong?" He asked me, realizing that I was staring at him through the mirror for a couple seconds. I shook my head.

"No, nothing's wrong."

He looked at me, raising his eyebrow. I put the toothbrush in my mouth, breaking eye contact with him. I could feel his eyes still on me, as I tried to blank him out as much as I could.

"Okay, _weirdo._"

With that he walked out.

I don't know how much longer I could take this. My heart was telling me - Zig deserved to know. I would want to know if my boyfriend cheated on me.

And well - that kinda _did_ happen to me, when Miles and Zoe kissed at his party.

But this had nothing to do with me. Zoe cheated - had sex with a guy who wasn't Zig. I had no idea if Zoe and Zig even had sex yet - I do know that Zig was kind of hesitant, considering what happened to Zoe last block.

My mind kept telling me not to get involved. That was Zoe's business to tell. I trusted that she would come to her instincts and actually tell Zig.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

It was like "bad friend" was written on my forehead.

oOo

I ended up acing the history test. I learned these past few months that all it takes is a few flash cards and not studying with Tristan.

History was my last class of the day, and so afterwards Zig met me at my locker as usual to walk home.

With _her._

"Is it okay if Zoe comes with us?" Zig asked, with Zoe hooked on his arm.

"Uh, sure." I said, looking at Zoe. "I thought you had practice."

"Not today, I figured I would let the girls have a break," she smiled, looking up at Zig. "And plus, I wanted to spend time with my _number one man."_

She kissed him after saying so, making me want to cringe. I hated seeing them kiss.

_You're not jealous, Matlin._

It was like Zoe had forgotten everything that she said last night, and it angered me. I stared at both of them, before closing my locker and locking it.

"Well, let's go."

x

As we walked home, they held hands the entire time. They seemed to be having their on conversation, as I walked awkwardly. This was always how it was when I hung out with them - that's why I try my hardest not to anymore.

I stared down at my phone, texting Tristan about something Mile's had said to him - something offensive I guess.

"She's like...one of _the biggest_ sluts." Zoe ranted.

"Who?" I asked, wondering who this 'slut' could be.

If anyone was a slut, it was _Zoe_.

I wasn't trying to get involved in the conversation of gossip, but I was curious as to what Zoe saw as a 'slut'.

"Oh, this girl on the squad," she shook it off, looking at Zig again. "I wouldn't be surprised if she had like...an STD or something."

_Wouldn't be surprised if you had one, Zoe. _

They continued to talk about it, as I tried to keep up with all the gossip that came out of her mouth.

"I'm just lucky I have a _good_ boyfriend," she smiled, looking at Zig, who kissed her after.

Okay, it's one thing to kiss when we are sitting on the couch, but when we are _walking home? No._

I felt the anger rise up inside of me, as I clenched my fists.

I tried so _so_ hard not to say anything about what Zoe said to me last night. I don't know if it was the anger or the jealousy inside of me getting to me.

_You're not jealous, Maya_.

Okay, well maybe just a_ little._

"Oh yeah, Zoe I was meaning to ask you!" I said, as they both looked at me. "How was that game Saturday?"

She eyed me.

"Oh yeah, I still feel bad that I couldn't make it," Zig added. "You never even told me about that huge victory, my rockstar cheerleader."

_My rock star cheerleader? Gross._

Zoe stayed silent, looking at me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, smiling a bit. Oh god, how I would regret saying that. I knew I shouldn't have said anything, but I couldn't help myself.

She needed a taste of her own medicene for once.

"Uh yeah," she nervously laughed. "It was like, so amazing."

_Aw, the sex? I've heard Matthew really gets around._

"It _must have been_," I smiled.

We arrived at the house, where she quickly pushed me aside.

"What -" Zig said, confused as to why Zoe unhooked from his arm.

"Girl stuff, go in the house, babe." She smiled, giving him a quick kiss.

Okay, did they _really_ need to kiss like every other second?

He walked into the house, and Zoe glared at me as he closed the door.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She scowled.

"Zoe, calm down I was just..."

"You were just trying to put your nose into something that's none of your business again." She cut me off.

Okay, no more being nice.

"Actually Zoe, it is my business. You were the one who came storming into my room, crying, and told me what was going on."

"But that does not make it your business. I should have _never_ told you in the first place." She shook her head.

"It does, actually. Zig is one of my best friends, how long do you expect me to hide this from him?"

She glared at me, unsure of what to say.

"How much do you want?" She finally asked, as I raised my eyebrows.

"Huh?"

"How much money do you want?"

I laughed, backing up. _Was this really happening?_

"You want to _pay me_ to not say anything?" I laughed, and she continued to glare at me.

"If you keep your dirty mouth shut, then yes, I'll pay you." She whispered.

I continued to laugh, as I shook my head.

"No," I waved my hands. "I'm not taking your money, princess." It was odd calling someone princess, after being called that after Grace so many times.

"Then what do I need to do, so you won't tell anyone?"

I took a step closer to her.

_"You_ need to tell him."

She looked at me, then looked off into the distance, shaking her head.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Well if you don't, I will."

With that, she glared at me. She glared long and hard, before storming off into my house. You do not storm into my house, I should be the one doing that.

I knew at that moment I _didn't_ want Zoe as a friend anymore.

I looked around, not wanting to go inside. I pulled my phone out, dialing Tristan's number.

"Hello?" Tristan said, it sounded like he had his mouth full.

"Tris," I replied. "What are you doing?"

"Watching the first episode of season 5 of Gossip Girl, why?"

"Tris! You said you'd wait for me!" I yelled through the phone.

"Then come over, quickly!" He replied.

As I was about to hang up to go over, I heard him say, "And bring some ice cream."

Typical Tristan, he was always craving ice cream. I put my phone in my purse, as I walked into the house.

I shouldn't have been surprised to see Zoe propped up on my counter, her legs wrapped around Zig's waist and her tongue down his throat.

"Uh, okay guys." I yelled. "Off my counter." I pointed to Zoe.

Zoe mustered me a dirty look, as did Zig.

_Ha._

"Maya, can we talk?" Zig said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh, no it's fine." I smiled, going to the fridge. "I'm just getting ice cream, and I'll be out of your guys hair in no time."

I opened the fridge, getting the ice cream, smirking.

I looked at Zoe, who looked at me.

"I'll see you tonight, _Zig_." I didn't take my eyes off of Zoe.

And then I walked out.

_God,_ was I having fun with this. I finally had something on Zoe, and for some reason, having the power made me feel somewhat good.

I knew for a fact, that if she didn't tell him by the end of the week, I would.

This was no longer none of my business.

oOo

"Ugh, Blair is _def_ my favorite." Tristan sighed, licking his ice cream spoon.

"No, Serena is _totally_ better," I replied as he looked at me, his mouth wide open.

"Do you see Blair's outfits?"

I laughed.

"Serena could rule the world if she wanted to," I giggled, and Tristan looked at me for a second before nodding his head.

The door opened, bringing in the cold air. Owen, Tristan's older brother, walked in, looking sweaty.

"Hey, losers." He simply said, smirking. Tristan paused the TV.

"Hey," I answered, taking the remote out of Tristan's hand and unpausing the episode.

"Where's mom?" Owen asked, setting his keys down on the table and sitting on the chair beside us.

"Work," Tristan replied, focused on the TV. "No! Blair, that's a _bad idea_." Tristan yelled at the TV, and I chuckled beside him.

"Is this what you guys do all day?" Owen asked, chuckling. He took off his sneakers. "Sit around and watch Girl Gossip?"

"Okay, first of all, it's _Gossip Girl_," Tristan scowled, pausing the TV again. "And second, shouldn't you be back at school? You have class in like two hours and your campus is three hours away."

Owen shrugged his shoulders, laying back.

"Taking a break," he simply replied.

"_Taking a break_? From _what_?" Tristan snapped.

"What do you mean from _what_? School, obviously."

"Why?" I asked.

He sat up, taking a sip out of my drink.

"I don't know, stress I guess." And with that he was walking out of the room.

"He's _so_ weird." Tristan rolled his eyes.

I looked at my phone, and saw that the time was already almost seven.

"Oh, I should probably go now," I sighed, getting off the couch.

"_Or,_ you can just sleepover?" Tristan asked, grabbing my wrist.

I almost took his offer, but I knew I had to get my homework done somehow, sadly, Blair Waldorf wasn't going to do it for me.

oOo

I walked in my house to see no one in the kitchen. The lights were off, and a note was on the table.

_"Out with the neighbor, be back later. -Mom"_

I figured Zig wasn't home, since all the lights were off. I smiled, knowing I had the house to myself for once. I decided to slip into a sports bra and shorts that were a little too short, but no one was home, so I didn't care.

I put on the radio we had in the kitchen, while getting my homework out. I couldn't help but dance to Ariana's new song.

I then figured out that I was not home alone, when I heard the music fade off, from someone turning it down.

It was Zig.

"Oh, _Zig_." I jumped, startled he was in the house. "You scared the living crap out of me."

"Sorry," he laughed a bit, looking at me.

I then realized the attire I was in. A sports bra and short shorts, wow, good choice Maya.

"Is Zoe here?"

"No." He walked over to the fridge, taking the milk out and drinking out of the carton. I watched him, feeling awkward. It wasn't even that I hardly had any clothes on, it was just awkward with us, ever since he started dating Zoe. He treated me like he was under a telescope, and Zoe was looking through the eye glass.

It was Zig who needed to watch Zoe.

"When did she leave?" I asked, sitting down at the counter. He turned around and shrugged.

"Not too long ago," he simply replied. I thought of saying something back, but changed my mind. If he wanted to talk to me, he would.

I wish it was all back to normal. Where we would sit at the counter from six o'clock until 10 o'clock, doing homework. Half of the time, well most of the time, we would just second about an hour on homework. We would get so distracted with one another. We would either die of laughter from watching too many vines, or have deep conversations.

I missed that.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked, leaning over the counter, looking at me. I looked at him, and slowly nodded, biting on my pen cap.

"Do you like Zoe?" He simply asked. I put my pen down, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah, I mean I _guess_." I replied, shrugging. His face stayed steady.

"You guess?"

"Well, I mean I think she has...well she is involved in too much drama. Right now I'm trying to stay away from that."

He stayed silent for a second, as if he was thinking. He then nodded his head, sitting up from the counter.

"Alright, I get it."

"Why?" I asked him.

He hesitated at first, itching the back of his neck.

"She thinks you don't like her."

I laughed at that one. There she goes again, trying to start something up.

"She really said that?" I laughed, and he nodded. "I don't _not_ like her. She's..." I thought about saying nice, but _that_ she wasn't "She's fun to be around."

"Alright," Zig said. "I just thought I would ask."

He began walking up the stairs into his room. I figured - I knew - that Zoe didn't tell him. And she wouldn't. That's how she was, she either blamed her problems on someone else, or pretended the problems weren't even there.

It was then when my phone started buzzing.

Zoe's name popped up, she was calling me.

"Zoe?" I asked through the phone.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Why are you calling?" I asked again.

"Because I need to know if you're aware of what will happen if our little secret gets out."

"_Our_ little secret?" I laughed. "Don't you mean _your_ little secret? _I'm_ not the one who cheated on him, Zoe."

I heard her sigh over the phone.

"Okay, just listen here, Matlin." She scowled. "Keep your trampy little mouth shut, okay? For once I finally have something good in my life. After what happened with the assault I-"

"No," I cut her off. "You are _not_ blaming this on your assault. This has absolutely nothing to do with that."

"It does!" She quickly snapped back. "I finally have something - something amazing, after I thought I would never experience anything great for the rest of my life."

I paced around my kitchen, trying to blow off my steam.

"If you _really_ thought Zig was amazing, you wouldn't have had sex with Matt." I smiled, hoping she can tell I was smiling.

"Just listen," she said in a low voice. "If you tell Zig, I will find a way to make your life a living hell."

She did _not_ just say that.

"Oh look, Zoe's back at it!" I laughed through the phone. "She's back at her little schemes, well it isn't going to work on me this time sweetheart. Zig is my best friend, and I know for a fact that he would trust my word over yours any day."

"God Maya, _your so..."_ She screamed, fading off. She took a deep breath, before saying, "Okay, I just need some time, alright?"

I thought I was going to throw the phone across the room, that's how mad I was.

"Well, the clock is ticking, Zo. Your times almost up."

And with that I hung up.

oOo

**Sooooo, what do you guys think of the story so far!? Let me know if I should continue it in the REVIEWS!**

**So, will Zig find out? Will Zoe find some way to make Maya's life a living hell? (Kinda harsh...Zoe.)**

**If you have any requests, suggestions, or questions, feel free to PM me!**

**Until next time...**

**xoxo,**

**Gossip Girl (DID YOU SEE MY LITTLE PART WITH GOSSIP GIRL UGH LOVE THAT SHOW SO MUCH R.I.P.)**


	3. Chapter 3

(ZIG'S P.O.V.)

"So, what should we do after school?" Zoe asked me, clinging onto my arm. We were walking through the halls.

"Well, we can go to my hou-"

"Isn't _Maya_ going to be there?" Zoe grudged, rolling her eyes.

"What's going on with you two?" I ask her, retrieving my arm back. Something has been off with those two, ever since the walk home from school yesterday.

"Oh, nothing. Just a_ teeny tiny_ disagreement." Zoe smirked, interlocking her fingers with mine. "Hey," she smiled at one of her power squad friends.

"Don't you have practice after school?" I asked her. Lately, she hasn't been having practices. I wondered what was going on.

"Oh, it's cancelled," she shrugged.

"Whatever happened to that girl? The one who got hurt the other night?" I remember Maya telling me. After Zoe suddenly left, Maya had said that she left because some girl got hurt.

"Huh? Who?" She asked, looking confused.

"The reason you left the other night? Maya told me that someone got hurt." I told her. She was silent for a second. She was thinking.

"Oh, yeah!" She finally said. "She's alright, just a...just a sprained ankle, that's all."

I have learned a thing or two about girls lately, by living with Maya. I knew when a girl was "pissed off" (a.k.a. on their periods), because Maya would _always_ seem extra annoyed when she was. She also craved chocolate covered pretzels - _every single hour._

I had also learned to tell when a girl was lying. And Zoe, she was lying.

"Okay," I agreed anyway. Fighting with Zoe was like a kitten fighting with a Rottweiler - _worthless._

We stopped walking, as she put her hands on my shoulders.

"Try not to have too much fun in the Rubber Room," she smiled, looking into the Rubber Room. We both spotted Maya, who sat there, somehow managing to sneak her phone around Mrs. Grell. Zoe looked at her for a couple seconds, waiting for Maya to look up and realize we were there. When she did realize, Zoe grabbed my neck and kissed me on the lips.

After the kiss, she smiled. "See you after school," she smirked, beginning to walk away. I was caught by surprise when I felt her slap my butt.

I walked in class, and saw Maya tap a seat next to hers. I took it, setting my stuff down.

"Does Zoe seem...off lately?" I asked Maya, and I saw her tense.

"Uh, kinda?" She lied. I knew she was lying. I knew her too well. After living with a girl for months, you get to know everything about her. I knew every single thing about Maya, one thing being - she sucked at lying.

"Don't lie," I shot back.

I saw her tense even more. She then rolled her eyes.

"If Zoe is_ "off"_, then that's something you should bring up to _her_, not me." She turned forward in her chair, putting her phone back in her bag.

_Well then._

oOo

(MAYA'S P.O.V.)

I couldn't do this anymore. I didn't know how much longer I can deal with this lie. I knew Zoe, she wouldn't tell Zig anytime soon. That's how she was.

The worse part was lying to Zig. The way he raised his eyebrows when I would lie to him, like I was basically telling him I was lying. I hated how he was trying to put me in the middle of his relationship with Zoe.

After the bell rang for dismissal, I didn't wait for Zig again. I went straight to my locker, relieved that class was over. Relieved I had just a couple minutes away from the awkwardness with him.

What I saw next took me by surprise. On my way to my locker, I passed Zoe's. Matt was at her locker. He was leaned up against it, as Zoe was getting her books. Me being me, I decided to walk a little bit closer to her locker, just to hear what they were saying. I thought about saying hello, but I decided not to.

"Yeah, tonight Drake is having some party," I heard Matt say. I could only walk by for so long, and that was the only thing I could hear before I was too far away.

I knew for one thing - that if Zoe went, I would tell Zig. No doubt.

I arrived at my locker, to find Tristan. He was filing his nails - typical Tristan. According to him, your nails were one of your best features. Your nails could tell a lot about you, he says.

"Hey," I said, opening up my locker.

"Okay, so you'll _never_ believe what happened." Tristan started, talking with his hands. "I just got invited to _Drake's party_ tonight, you know the one after the game?"

I rolled my eyes. Tristan was always trying to get involved in parties - especially when they were thrown by popular people.

"Well, I was working with some girl named Jack, I don't know she's on the power squad," he was talking so fast, it was hard to keep up. "And she invited me and said I could bring someone."

"Let me guess - you're bringing Miles?"

"_Hells_ to the _nos_" Tristan yelled. "Miles has been _super_ boring lately. I was asking if you would want to come."

I looked at him, he had excitement all over his face. It was a Friday night, and he had gotten invited to a football player's party.

"I don't know Tris..." I replied.

"Uh, no. You're coming. If I have to steal away into your house and drag you by your hair I will." He yelled, and I laughed.

"I just, I don't know," I sighed. "Don't those parties get busted like all the time?"

"If they do, I'll just call Owen to pick us up, he would be _totally_ cool with that."

I closed my locker, making sure I had all the right books I needed for the weekend.

"I'll let you know, okay?" I finally said, and he jumped up and down. I rolled my eyes, saying goodbye and walking out of the school.

I wondered if Zoe was going. Maybe I should go - maybe if I did then I would be able to catch Zoe in the act, if she decided to hook up with Matt again. That way, I would have proof.

Detective Maya, I called myself.

oOo

It was around 6 P.M. that Friday night, and I had ignored three of his calls already. The party would probably start around 8. It was only Zig and I in the house, Zoe had been at the game. As much as Zig said he didn't, he hated the games. He would only go to see Zoe, but Zoe told him he didn't have to come this time.

_Probably so she can flirt with Matt._

I was in my room, painting my toenails and watching the latest episode of Teen Wolf when I heard a knock on my door.

"Can I come in?" I heard Zig call from outside my door.

"Yeah," I replied, fixing the toe I had messed up painting. I heard the door open, and saw him cross my room and onto my bed.

"Nice color," he said, watching me as I painted them.

"Thanks," I replied, keeping my focus on my toes. "I'm suprised you didn't go tonight."

Zig shrugged, laying back on my bed. He picked up one of my throw pillows, and threw it up in the air and caught it.

"Wasn't in the mood," he simply replied.

"Are you going to that party with Zoe afterwards?" I asked, and he sat up.

"What party?"

So Zoe hadn't told him about the party, wow. I wondered if she was even going. I doubt she wouldn't miss out, considering the entire squad would probably go. Zoe hated being left out.

"Oh, the QB is having one after the game. The team their facing is terrible, the game will probably end at half time." I closed the bottle of nail polish, looking at Zig to see any sign of confusion.

"I didn't know about that," he said, laying back down on my bed. "Is Zoe going?"

"No idea," what I said next was something I would either be glad I said, or regret it. "I saw Matt at her locker today, I think he was asking her if she was going."

That got his attention.

"And what did she say?"

"I don't know, I think I saw her nod though." My stomach flopped, this could either go good or bad. I looked at him as he stared up at my ceiling.

"I wouldn't be worried though," I assured him, seeing how nervous he was. As much as I hated Zoe, as much as I wanted to tell Zig, just to ruin her relationship with him, I couldn't. _I didn't have the balls_, Tristan's brother Owen would say. "She's captain of the power squad, and he's the quarterback. He was probably just asking if her and the squad would be there."

Zig stayed silent for a couple more seconds, and then got up.

"You're probably right," he sat up. "Are you going?"

"Probably, Tristan asked me to go."

For some reason, I felt like I wanted to be anywhere but home. Anywhere away from Zig. If I stayed, I would most certainly spill the secret to him. I felt afraid to be in my own house.

"Okay," was all he replied with. He got off my bed, and walked towards my door.

"Maya?" I heard him say before he walked out. I spun my chair so I was facing him.

"Huh?"

"I miss this, hanging out like we always do."

I stared at him, before nodding my head. Somehow, those words made me catch my breath. Being around him lately made me feel like I couldn't breathe.

"Me too."

oOo

I feel like for the first time I finally realized that all high school parties are the same.

There's a category that every person at a party falls in : There's the horny drunk guys, who go around trying to get with any girl. There's the party drunk guys, who just scream on the top of their lungs and run around everywhere. There's the quiet drunk guys, who just sat on the couch on their phones. Then there's the crazy drunk girls, who take their shirts off for horny guys, spill their drinks everywhere. There's the emotional drunk girls, who just cry in the corner about how their boyfriend from 8th grade dumped them. There's the mean drunk girls, who look for a fight wherever they go.

Then there's Zoe - the flirty drunk.

I was on my second drink. I had to be careful. I needed to keep myself in check - I had to watch Tristan, who in fact was a party drunk. I used to love getting drunk - but for some reason I wasn't feeling it. Not tonight.

There were guys everywhere, bringing unsteady girls into bedrooms. There were girls who laughed uncontrollably. To me, they were all annoying.

The power squad girls were all in one huddle, talking to the football players. _Typical._

But then there was Zoe, who was sitting on the couch with three football players around her. I watched closely, not making myself look noticeable. She looked pretty drunk, but not trashed like some of the other girls were.

She must have noticed me, because she got off the couch and walked towards me.

"Maya!" She yelled, falling into my arms. "You made it!"

How annoying.

"Yeah," I said back, not with as much enthusiasm. "Where's Zig?"

"Ziggy? My boyfriend Ziggy?" She looked around. "_Poo._ He isn't here. Where is he?"

"Who cares where he is," I heard one of the football players yell back. Zoe laughed, then taking my arm and dragging me to the table where the alcohol was.

"_You_ look like you need more." She pouted, grabbing my cup from me.

"Uh no, I'm okay."

"See any guys you like here? I can easily hook you up in no time." She smiled. I looked around and cringed at all of the disgusting guys, drunk off of their asses.

"No thanks." I replied. She stood there, smiling. "I thought you hated me. I thought you were going to_ ruin my life_."

"Not if I have to, Matlin." She smiled, tugging my arm. "I don't want to, at least."

I sighed, taking my arm out of her grasp.

"Zoe, I told you. If you don't tell him, I-"

"Oh stop, Maya." She cut me off. "We are here now, at a really fun party. Let's not worry about all that _drama._" She grabbed my arm, leading me to where all of her friends were. I yanked myself out of her grasp before we could get any closer.

"No, I'm leaving." I stated, looking through my purse for my phone.

"What, so you can go home to _my_ boyfriend!?" She yelled back, and her words shocked me.

"What are you talking about?" I said back, and I saw her walk closer towards me.

"You make it seem like I don't know," she stumbled on her words, her words not making sense. People began to notice. "I think you...like _my_ boyfriend!"

I laughed. "Okay, Zoe." I stood closer to her, so we were inches apart. "Just remember, I know something that can ruin both you and your reputation."

And with that I walked away into the big crowd of people, pushing people out of the way. When I finally found Tristan talking to some power squad girl, I grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the door.

"Where are we going?" He laughed. "Wow, it's cold out here." He said when we reached the outside.

"We are leaving."

"Ugh, seriously? It's so fun though!" He pouted. I ignored him and took my phone out, looking through my contacts. When I found the contact I wanted to call, I called it.

"Hello?" A man's voice said on the other end.

"Owen," I said through the phone, and Tristan noticed. "Can you pick Tristan and I up? We drank a little too much at a party."

_"Oh my god he's gonna kill me!_" Tristan whispered.

"Uh, yeah. I'll come." Owen replied, and a feeling of relief washed over me. I gave him the address and hung up.

"Why the _debby downer?_ That party was fun!" Tristan pouted, crossing his arms and looking back at the house. I rolled my eyes.

"You think being in a room with a whole bunch of sloppy drunk people is fun?" I scowled. I realized then that this must have been how Zig felt, when he tried to drag me out of a party my freshman year, when I was drunk off of my ass.

All I knew, is that I wanted to get out of there.

oOo

We arrived at Tristan's house minutes later. Owen had no problem picking us up, and surprisingly he wasn't mad. Owen was always over protective when it came to that stuff. He just seemed off lately, which was good for our advantage.

Tristan went straight up to his room, while I walked into the kitchen and poured him a glass of water. Would help the hangover in the morning - I guessed.

"So what happened tonight?" Owen stopped me before I can go upstairs.

"Uh..."

"You can tell me, Matlin. I won't be upset - I know what it's like to be in high school." He laughed, going into the fridge and drinking the chocolate milk out of the carton.

I sat down at their counter, playing with my fingers.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked, and he looked at me before nodding.

"Don't know how much help I'll be but...sure. Shoot." He said, and I giggled. Same old Owen.

"If your girlfriend were to cheat on you, and your best friend knew about it, would you want your best friend to tell you?" I managed to get out, unsure if what I had said made sense. He was silent, thinking about his answer.

"Yeah, I would want to know." He finally replied, nodding.

"Thanks." I said, getting off of the chair and beginning to walk up the stairs.

"Maya!" I heard Owen silently yell. He walked over to the stairs with the cup of water in his hands. "Make sure you give this to Tris, my mom would kill him if she knew he drank."

I smiled, thanking him.

I know Owen wasn't the most logical person to go to for advice, but still. He was a guy, and usually all guys are the same when it comes to relationship stuff, right?

I gave Tristan his water, and in a matter of seconds he was passed out on his bed. I slipped out of my clothes and put on a pair of his sweats and a big t-shirt, and managed to make room for myself on his bed.

I thought over the night. Zoe was such a bitch to me, how could I not tell Zig? She was probably still there - flirting it up with other guys, while Zig sat at home waiting for her to call him. It wasn't right - and Zig didn't deserve that.

I had to tell Zig, it was my job as his friend to tell him. And I would tell him - the next day.

I decided to text Zig before I went to sleep.

_"Hey, I'm sleeping over Tristan's. Just let my mom know tht i'll b home in the morning."_ I sent him, and in a matter of seconds he replied.

_"Okay, goodnight My."_ he replied.

oOo

**I was going to add more to this, but decided to keep that for next chapter. SO! What do you guys think? :) **

**I'll TRY to have next chapter up before Christmas, but that might be difficult. If you want to see the next chapter, let me know in the REVIEWS! I wanna know how you guys are enjoying this :)**

**xoxo :)**


	4. Chapter 4

(Maya's P.O.V.)

I was up before Tristan, as usual. He looked dead as he slept, and I'm not going to lie, I checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive. I felt bad for him. He would have a killer hangover.

Tristan's house was basically my house, that's how it was with both of us. What's his is mine and what's mine is his. I decided to get a head start, and start to make breakfast for both him and I. I knew he probably wouldn't be hungry when he woke up, but if I didn't make him something, I knew I would hear hell all morning.

I walked down his stairs to find Owen laying with his feet hanging off the recliner, eating a pop tart. He looked like he had just woken up. His hair was a mess, his eyes looked heavy. There were pop tart crumbs all over him, and a finished carton of milk beside him.

"Is this what you do now?" I asked him, walking over to his chair. "Watch cartoons all morning and eat Oreo pop tarts?"

He looked up at me, chuckling.

"Shut it, Matlin."

I decided to sit and relax before I made the breakfast. Owen didn't seem interrupted, in fact he even offered me the remote. I turned it down though, cartoons were always my guilty pleasures. Katie always made fun of me for it. All the sudden, I missed Katie. Being around Owen made me realize I missed having a sibling around.

"So Owen," I began, resting my feet on the table. "Why aren't you back at college?"

He remained silent, and then he shrugged.

"Just grades. College is stressful."

I wondered what he was going through. Although he looked like an egghead, who could give two shits about school, he was actually pretty smart. He aced his SAT's. He even tutored me when I made the dumb decision to take honors history last year, and I ended up getting a high B in the class. He would also never miss a final, ever.

"Well, if I know anything, Owen Milligan would _never_ miss an exam or test." I said, watching him. I looked for any signs of mood change. Nothing.

"College isn't like high school, cutlet." He smirked, and I laughed. If I were still a freshman with absolutely no boobs, I would hate him for saying it. But I was 16 now, and we kind of made it a joke now - a funny nickname. I didn't mind it, really. And for the record, I actually did have boobs now.

"But why aren't you going back, to like your campus?" I conversationally asked. If I knew anything about Owen, he wasn't good under pressure. He didn't like being scolded, or questioned. He stayed silent.

"Hey, how Tris by the way?" He knowingly changed the subject. I eyed him. He was hiding something, I knew it. But I decided to keep it where it left off. I was curious, as usual. Owen's business was Owen's business, right?

"Oh, that's why I came downstairs. I was going to make breakfast."

"There's no milk left," Owen said as I got off the couch. I looked down at the empty milk carton again. "And there's no eggs left either." He added.

I rolled my eyes, throwing a pillow at him.

"Pig,"

"Cutlet,"

I laughed as I walked in the kitchen. I found a bag of bagels laying next to the fridge. Tristan loved bagels - especially with extra butter.

As I began walking upstairs with our breakfast, I heard Owen call my name.

"That question you asked me last night," he began. "Am I going to have to beat someone up?"

I forgot I had even asked him. I had asked him for advice with the whole Zoe and Zig thing, leaving their names out. I chuckled to myself. Owen was always protective. He always said, Tristan would never throw hands with someone, so Owen thought it was his job to look out for me.

"No," I chuckled, walking up the stairs, shaking my head. Owen was practically my older brother - the brother I never had.

I reached Tristan's room to see him still passed out on the bed. I rested the bagels on his nightstand, climbing onto the bed. I shook up, and I knew I would regret it. He groaned, not opening his eyes.

"Tris it's already eleven in the afternoon, get up." I shook him. Tristan was the type who didn't get cranky whenever someone woke him up, which was a blessing for his mother. I was suprised he wasn't grumpy, I expected him to give me hell for waking him up.

"I smell bagels," Tristan mumbled, slowly opening his eyes. I reached over for his plate and giving it to him. He thanked me, hungrily taking a bite of it.

I watched him eat for a couple minutes, as I ate my bagel. He didn't look sick - to the point where he would throw up.

"When did we go to sleep?" Tristan asked with his mouth full.

"Well, you passed out right when we got home," I replied. He ate one half of his bagel before resting the plate on the nightstand. He didn't look hungry anymore.

"Why did we leave so early last night? I remember you seemed pissed." He asked, more awake now. I rolled my eyes, thinking about Zoe.

"Can I tell you something? You have to promise not to tell anyone." I said. I don't even know why I said it, it was a waste of breath. I knew Tristan would never tell a secret of mine. But he held his pinky out for me.

"I pinky promise," We hooked pinkies.

"Okay," I began. "So you'll never believe this." I started telling him what had happened, and watched his eyes widen when I told him.

"No _effing_ way," Tristan gasped, and I nodded. "You have to be kidding me!"

"I heard it right out of her dirty mouth,"

"Yeah, _dirty mouth_ alright." Tristan snapped.

"And I don't know if I should tell Zig or not,"

"You haven't told him!?" He cut me off.

"No, not yet. But you don't understand, Zoe is_ threatening_ me."

"Typical Zoe," Tristan shook his head. "Wait, wait." He said, sitting up.

"What?" I cautiously asked.

"I remember - I remember something from last night." He began stuttering, trying to think. "Okay - I remember you going to the bathroom, and I was hanging out with this girl Jack and Mile's sister, who by the way was wearing these _adorable shoes_ with little -"

"Tris, get along with it!"

"Oh yeah, yeah so I was talking to them, and I looked over and I saw Matt talking to Zoe." He paused, trying to think. "Oh my god, I think she had her hand on his chest." He hit his forehead. "Yeah! Yeah I saw her hand on his chest."

I widened my eyes. There I had it - my proof. Matt wasn't only a hook up, one night stand. She had been talking to him, hooking up with him. She probably had sex with him more than once, while dating Zig.

I knew at that moment I needed to go home - I needed to tell Zig. I got off of the bed, shuffling around Tristan's room, collecting all of my belongings.

"Where are you going?" Tristan asked, confused.

"I'm telling Zig." I replied, changing out of Tristan's clothes and into my clothes from last night.

"You know, you tell him. Expose that little _filthy, disgusting, ratty_ slut bitch."

I said goodbye, before storming down his stairs, passing Owen without saying anything.

"You need a ride?" I heard Owen call out, but I was already out the door. I was filled with so much anger, so much disappointment. Not only in Zoe - but in myself. I had kept this from Zig for too long.

I practically stormed home. The walk was normally five minutes long, but I found myself getting home in only three, since I was walking so fast. I no longer felt nervous to tell Zig anymore, but relieved. Relived I wouldn't have to keep this secret anymore, the secret that I should have told the second after I found out.

As I arrived to my house, I noticed my mother's car wasn't parked outside. I figured she had went to the grocery store, or physical therapy.

I prayed that this would all just go smoothly. I knew he would be upset - furious even. All I knew was that I would be there for him every second of the way. He needed me.

I opened the front door, yanking my combat boots off. I walked into the kitchen, to find Zig leaning against the sink, looking down at his phone. He looked up at me, and then continued looking at whatever he was looking at on his phone.

"Zig," I took a deep breath, trying to catch my breath. I had walked pretty fast for a girl my size. "I need to tell you something."

He stayed silent, which was weird. He looked up from his phone, locking it in the process. I put my hand on the counter, continuing to try to catch my breath.

"Okay, so I know I should have told you this earlier but I couldn't, I just couldn't do it," I had finally caught my breath, but I wasn't going to lie, I felt a nervous kick in my stomach. I watched him as he looked at me. I had been standing right in front of him, and I never felt so far away.

"Okay..." Zig said, watching me.

"Zoe - she's cheating on you. She has been, she even told me." I blurted out. I finally knew what Cady meant when she was talking about '_word vomit_' in _Mean Girls_. The words were just thrown out of my mouth, like I had no control whatsoever what I was going to say. That scared me. The weird thing was, his face remained steady.

"She's been hooking up with the quarterback, and last night at the party, I'm pretty sure they hooked up again." I continued, looking for any signs on his face of anger or hurt. I knew I would need to comfort him, and I was ready to. I would let him cry to me, and I would tell him it would be okay. That's what friends were for, right? That's what he had done after the numerous times Miles and I had broken up, he had listened to me rant on and on, without me even having to ask him to. I would do the same for him, if he would even let me.

"_Interesting,_" Zig said, and I saw the sides of his mouth curl up, like he was about to laugh.

"What? Why are you smiling about this?" I asked, confused. I watched him as he walked over to the counter, crossing his arms. He sighed.

"Because my _girlfriend_ just called me," he chuckled, looking down at his phone. "And she told me that a certain _someone_ was going to be coming home soon." He paused. "What's your angle here, Maya?"

_Had I missed something?_

"What?" I confusingly asked. He laughed, rubbing his forehead.

"Wow, _okay._" He chuckled, going on. "She told me you would be coming here, trying to convince me that she_ cheated_ on me?"

"Yeah, and she_ did_ cheat on you." I quickly said. I found my breath catching, it became harder to breath.

"She called me in tears, Maya. She told me that you were really drunk at the party, and you confessed that you had feelings for me?"

"Oh my god,"

"Maya I chased after you for _a year_, and you paid absolutely _no_ attention to me. But once I'm in a happy relationship with someone, you try to mess that up for me." He was no longer laughing anymore, he was angry.

Everything was a blur. I didn't even know what I was thinking at that moment. I sucked my breath in.

"Zig, no." I realized I was now crying.

"I watched you with him - I watched you_ torture me_, when you were with Miles. But not once - not _once_ Maya," his voice shook. "Did I _ever_ try to break you two up."

"Zig, you have to trust me!" I tried to defend myself, but he held his hands up.

"No, I should've seen this happening." He shook his head. "You know, I thought you were different, someone I can trust. Turns out, I was wrong - really wrong." He yelled. "I mean really!? You were going to try and convince me that my girlfriend cheated on me!? Zoe told me she never even talked to Matt for longer than two minutes before."

I was completely speechless. This was her revenge - this was her way of ruining my life. I was bawling now, watching my best friend - Zig - leave me. The room all the sudden felt silent - filled with a lot of tension.

"Zig, I'm not lying about this!" I yelled, more like screamed. "She told me herself that she had sex with him." My voice shook.

"And why should I believe you, over my girlfriend?" He yelled, pointing at me.

_Oh, he didn't just say that._

"I can't believe you right now!" I screamed, throwing my hands up. "Look at yourself Zig,_ listen to yourself._ You are believing a girl you have been dating for three fucking months, over your best friend."

He stood there, looking at me. He shook his head again.

"I'm leaving," he whispered, grabbing his jacket off the counter. I watched him, not moving from where I was standing.

I turned around. I didn't have much more strength in me - but I still had just a little left.

"If you ever were my friend, ever _cared_ about me," my voice shook, and he stopped walking. "You would believe me."

And with that, he walked out.

Conversation over.

I stood alone in my kitchen, staring at the wall. I could hardly see it, though, over my tears. This didn't just happen - he didn't just leave. This all had to be some nightmare.

I pinched myself, hoping I would just wake up. But I didn't - this was real. Zoe had won, she had really won this time.

The tears came rushing out, as I sobbed. My body was filled with so much anger, regret. I was so confused. How was Zoe somehow always a step ahead of me? How did she have so much power over people?

So I stood there, alone. My best friend had just left, and to be honest I was unsure if he would even come back. I watched him completely throw everything away - for her.

And just like that, it was all over.

oOo

**WHAAAAAAAAAAT!? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?**

**Haha, oh how I thought this one over. I thought - you know, this would be interesting. muahahaha :)**

**SOO here's my little christmas present to you guys - a new chapter :) I know it's short, but I knew I wanted this one to be short. I spent a while on this chapter, read it over like a hundred times, changing things left and right.**

**(But you guys already now that I am so mean when it comes to cliffhangers.)**

**LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK IN THE REVIEWS! :)**

**xoxo ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is kind of confusing, so be sure to read it closely. :)**

(MAYA'S P.O.V.)

There are moments in your life where you want to last forever. One's you wish would never end, ever. I had a moment like that before.

It was Whisper Hug's first gig. We were so nervous, everyone was so scared to go on stage. We were all jittery - unsure of how this would go. Unsure of how the crowd will react to our original music. Unsure if we fully knew what we were doing. Unsure if we would be any good.

But then I looked over at Zig, who was fixing the strap to his guitar. He looked so...so calm. Confident. Like nothing could ever break him, nothing can push him down. He looked ready. Like he had been doing this forever. He was always confident in everything he did. It made me feel better, knowing I would have him next to me the entire time we performed.

We ended up killing it. We were amazing, the crowd was screaming. It was that moment that I wished would never end. I looked over at Zig, who had been laughing through his lyrics. It was amazing. I don't think I ever had that much fun before.

But, there's those moments you wished never happened. Those moments you wished you could just erase from existence. Those moments that make you feel sick to your stomach whenever you think about them.

I was only seven years old when my dad left. Katie was ten. I can remember that day like the back of my hand.

It was no joke that my parents loved each other. We would always go on family vacations - my favorite being when we went to Disney. Katie was sick in bed, and my six year old self begged my parents to take me to Magic Kingdom for the 3rd time that trip. My mom agreed to stay with Katie, and my dad took me.

I remember my father and I going to Magic Kingdom, myself on his shoulders. It was possibly one of the best days ever. He took me to meet all of the princesses, and I even got all of their autographs. I remember being so happy he took me, and feeling like I was the luckiest girl in the entire world to have such an amazing dad.

That all changed when he cheated on my mom.

It was eleven o'clock at night, I was put in bed early because I had a big field trip the next day with my class. It was the third night in a row I was awoken by their fighting. Katie probably pretended she couldn't hear them. Katie and my father were always closer than him and I were. Katie was always on his side, and she must have been crushed after she discovered that he cheated on our mom. So instead of hiding behind walls and trying to hear every word they were saying to each other, she stayed in her room and pretended she couldn't hear it all.

_"For the third time Dan, I'm done with all of this!" I heard my mom cry. I was hiding in the living room, listening to them fight. I heard many crashing noises, the water running and stopping, shelves opening and loudly closing._

_"Marg, just listen..."_

_"No!" my mom screamed. "I want you to pack your stuff Dan." I heard her walking around the kitchen, throwing things everywhere. I remember hugging my knees, crying into them._

_"So that's it then?" He screamed back. "It's all over?"_

_"Hell it's all over!" Glass shaddered into the ground, causing a loud noise. "How could you do this to our family, Dan? How could you!"_

_My ears were ringing as my stomach flopped. I covered my small ears, praying this was all a nasty dream._

_The yelling only got worse. More glass was shattered. More things were thrown. I could've sworn I even heard someone slap someone. Probably my mother slapping him._

_ I knew I would regret running in there._

_They both paused when they saw me. When they saw their seven year old daughter, crying and distraught from their parents fighting._

_My dad walked towards me, but I backed away, putting my hands up in defense. He noticed, and the sadness in his eyes turned into anger._

_"Leave, Dan." My mom whispered from behind him. My father glared at me, like I had betrayed him. It was the scariest moment of my life._

He did leave. I haven't seen or heard from him since then. Since nine years ago.

A year after he left, I discovered that I have a bad case of anxiety. I had nightmares of that night almost every night, waking up crying and screaming. My mother signed me up to talk to someone who specialized in family trauma. There I was - eight years old - seeing a therapist.

I got better a year later, and didn't experience any anxiety until years later.

Years later being a couple months ago. But that's a whole different story.

I sat in my room later that night after Zig left, staring up at my ceiling, crying. I hardly ever cried. I've learned over the past few years that crying hardly helps anything - but I felt like crying tonight.

Everything was falling apart again. Just when I thought I had my shit together, everything came crumbling down.

Just a week ago I was so happy. I had Tristan back, Miles and I were on speaking terms, Zig and I were O.K. Everything seemed normal, and for once in my life, I loved normal. I _needed_ normal.

_God,_ I hated Zoe. I hated her so much. She had ruined everything for me. She had taken Zig, she had won. Nothing I would say would make Zig believe me. She had Zig wrapped around her finger, like a puppet. She had control of him, and he let her. She had brainwashed him.

Never would I think Zig would leave me. He never had left me, it was always me fucking up. But like always, he would always come back. He cared about me, he genuinely cared about me.

Until she came along.

It was like she was a drug to him. I wondered what she had done to put some spell on him.

Zoe was "the bitch" of the school, and she knew it. She was proud of it. She owned it. And up until now, I had no idea how she had it. How she had the confidence and popularity.

But now I know. She was the devil. Cruella Deville. She was sneaky, she was Blair Waldorf.

All I knew, was that I wasn't going down without a fight.

It was 10 P.M. that night, as I stared up at my ceiling, thinking about all of this. My eyes were puffy from crying, my hair pushed back into a bun.

I heard the door open from up in my room. My mother had already been up in her room, so it had to be Zig. My heart began beating faster, as I heard the door silently closed.

He was passed curfew, far passed it.

I got off of my bed, unsure if I would regret going out of my room and downstairs. I knew I wanted to see him, I wanted to see if he would apologize. I wanted to see if he finally came to his instincts and broke up with her. Maybe he saw what I saw in her.

I was wrong. _Ha, when am I_ ever_ right? Never._

He didn't speak a word to me when he saw me. He took his jacket off, and managed to throw me a cold glance. I crossed my arms over my chest tightly, instantly regretting coming downstairs. I hoped he couldn't see the tears that had been in my eyes.

Zig had never given me that look before.

"You didn't have to wait up for me, _mom."_ He finally scoffed, setting his jacket on the counter.

"I wasn't," I quietly replied, feeling so small. This was my house, and I felt unwelcome. I remained where I stood, watching him walk my way, ignoring me as he walked by.

"Are you seriously just going to ignore me?" I asked, turning around as he walked past me. He stopped, slowly turning around.

"What do you expect, Maya?"

I was shocked by his words. I looked at the boy I thought I knew. I didn't see Zig, no. I didn't see the Zig I knew.

"I expect you to_ listen to me_, Zig. I expect you to believe me!" I hardly noticed that I whined as I said it. I couldn't help the tears now, and I knew he noticed.

He looked at me coldly. He stared at me. His stare went right through me. It scared me. We looked at each other like that for what felt like hours.

I decided to break the stare. I couldn't stand looking at him anymore. This time, it was me walking away.

I walked into my room and slammed the door behind me, throwing myself in my bed.

Everything from that night came rushing back. The feelings I felt when I was that little seven year old girl came back. I could feel the anxiety coming back from inside of my stomach.

Because up until now, my dad was the only one who ever looked at me like that. The way Zig had just done.

oOo

I woke up the next morning with a mindset of leaving this house. This was ridiculous, I was scared to be in my own house. With the way Zig's been treating me, he should be out of my house. But I couldn't do that to him. Especially with Vince hassling him. I couldn't put him on the streets. I just couldn't.

I quickly got dressed and got into the bathroom before Zig could. I brushed my teeth, ran the hair curler in my hair, and put on some makeup. More makeup than usual, for some reason.

I got out of the bathroom in perfect time, as I saw Zig walking out of his room. I dashed to the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and went straight back up to my room.

It was going to be one silent car ride.

oOo

I stared at her from across the hall. She was at her locker, talking to one of the girls on her squad. She looked so happy, which made me even more angry. She in no way diserved to be happy.

I began speed walking to her locker, anger rising inside of me. I felt my heart beating so fast, and my stomach flopped. I was going to do this, in front of anyone who was around. But I didn't care.

"You're just having _so much_ fun with this, aren't you?"

She stared at me, looking at me up and down, with that face that made me just want to slap her.

"Hmm, what's that Maya?" She smiled. I clenched my fists. No fighting, Maya.

"You know, you won't be able to keep up this act for long, Zoe."

"I have no idea what act you're talking about, and quiet frankly _I don't care_." She smiled, looking at her friend and beginning to walk away.

"You're_ rotten_, you know that?" I yelled, and she stopped walking.

"Yeah, I said it." I began walking closer to her, talking to her back. "I have the confidence to tell you what probably everyone in this school thinks of you!" I yelled louder.

"Excuse me?" She turned around, her hair swooshing in the process.

"What, are you_ offended_, Zoe? Are you shocked that after throwing me down, I'm right back up again?" We stared at each other. I had no idea what I was doing. I was never the fighting in public type, and I was shocked I knew what I was even saying.

"Zig will discover who I see in you sooner or later." I finished, and she stepped closer to me, whispering.

"No he won't," she laughed. "I mean, just look. He believed _me_ over _you._ I have him now, and I'm not letting him go."

I began breathing harder, getting even more angry.

"You're wrong," I felt the tears in my eyes, trying to fight them back. "I know Zig more than anyone, this is only a temporary thing. Zig would never leave me."

"Really?" she giggled. "Because by the looks of it... he already did."

I didn't even know what I was doing when I slapped her. It just happened. I didn't even have to think about it, I just did it.

She grabbed her face, shocked by what I just did. My body shook, as tears came rushing out of my eyes. I realized that everyone was watching. People stood in the hallway, shocked, and some people chanting that we fight. I was shocked to feel embarrassed.

Zoe looked up at me, before slapping me right back.

I felt someone yank on my arm.

"Matlin, _let's go_." I heard Grace whisper, before beginning to drag me out of the hallway. I argued, crying in the process.

_"Let go of me!"_

She didn't listen though, and only more people stopped and watched. I had a whole crowd now.

We approached the Rubber Room, which no one was in. She let go of me when we got inside the Rubber Room, closing the door and locking it.

"What the hell were you thinking, Matlin!? A teacher could have saw you!" She yelled. All of the sudden, it felt as if my body couldn't hold me up. I fell to the ground, as my entire body began to shake. I felt like I had no control over my body anymore.

A similar feeling that I felt before.

I began gasping for air, choking on it as I would breath in. I hardly even felt Grace fall to the ground next to me, her arm around my back.

"Maya, breathe." I managed to hear her. I was hardly aware of anything around me. Everything was spinning, as I was gasping for air. I couldn't breathe hardly. Tears came rushing out of my eyes, causing my vision to blur.

"I- I can't," I managed to get out of my mouth. I remember my therapist telling me - as hard as it is, try to stop thinking about the negative things around you. I tried to clear my mind, which was barely working.

I began breathing heavier, trying to take deeper breaths.

"It's okay, Maya. Just breathe." Grace said, patting my back gently. "You're okay."

I looked at her, trying to control my breathing. A minute or two later, my body began settling down, my muscles relaxing. The only thing I couldn't control was the tears coming out of my eyes now.

I swallowed, breathing normally now. Grace removed her hand from my back, sitting beside me. I brought my knees to my chest, crying into them.

"Matlin, what's wrong?" She asked, confused. I kept crying into my knees, trying to build the courage to tell her.

"Ask me what's right instead, if you want a shorter answer." I replied. whipping my face. Grace reached over, grabbing a tissue and giving it to me.

"Seriously, what's going on?" She asked. I never really saw Grace this serious before. She was usually just a dry humor kind of girl. I never saw an emotional side of her - ever. I wondered if anyone ever saw an emotional side to her.

"Zoe is a bitch, _that's_ what's wrong." I sighed. "And Zig falls for it."

"Novak? Wait - Novak and West Drive Diva are seriously a thing?" She chuckled. "I thought it was just a one time thing."

"Nope," I sniffled. "And now I'm the liar. Now I'm the crazy one."

"Woah, slow down. What are you talking about?"

I continued on telling her the story, not leaving out any details. Telling her and venting to her somewhat helped. It reminded me of venting to a therapist. Venting to Tristan was nice, and often helped. But venting to Grace was better - easier. Grace knew me somewhat, but she didn't know everything about me. She was a new voice, and that felt refreshing.

After I was finished telling her everything that had happened, the laughed.

"Wow, since when is Novak a _girl?"_

I giggled for the first time that day.

"And to think that I saw you as the weak link." She laughed, and I playfully punched her in the arm.

"I just can't believe this is all happening," my smile soon faded into a frown. "Out of everyone in my life, I thought that Zig would be the one to always stay. To always trust me and always be a person I could trust."

She remained silent.

"And last night...last night he scared me. The way he looked at me... he never looked at me that way. And somehow - somehow I'm to blame for all of this." I began crying again. "Somehow I'm the bad guy. Zoe is the one who deserves hell."

"Well I'll tell you one thing," Grace begun. "You're not the bad guy. I mean I admit - you could be really annoying sometimes, and really hard to handle."

I looked at her, wondering when she was going to get to the point.

"But," she continued. "You're not a bitch."

I smiled, feeling just a bit better.

"As for Novak, he will come to his senses. He's a dumbass half of the time, but the truth does always come out sooner or later."

Without having to think, I hugged Grace. Hesitant at first, she hugged me back.

"Enjoy these few seconds, Blondie." She chuckled. "This is the only time you'll be getting a hug from me."

Seconds after our hug, students began walking in. The Rubber Room kids. Grace and I quickly got up, and I straightened out my shirt, and fixing the hair that was stuck to my face from my tears.

"What, were you two having sex?" One of the Rubber Room kids with long hair and a beanie on laughed.

"Shut it, dumbass." Grace punched his arm, pushing him down in his chair. I laughed. I wondered how Grace was so strong, how she had so much power.

I took my seat by Grace, looking into my small mirror from my bag. My makeup was all over. Guess it was the wrong day to wear eyeliner.

I reached for a tissue, quickly fixing it. I hardly noticed Zig walk in, sitting two seats down from me.

"Hey," I heard Grace whisper from beside me. "Blondie."

"Huh?" I whispered back.

"I think I have a solution to this whole problem."

oOo

**I KNOW. I'M SORRY. IT'S BEEN A WHILE.**

**Writer's block honestly SUCKS. I've had it pretty bad, so this chapter has been pushed off for a while. But hopefully this chapter makes up for it. And I hope that I don't get this off track again!**

**Anyways, there you have it. I added some Grace and Maya fluff. I love their friendship TBH. Maya needs a friend like that.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know how you liked the chapter in the REVIEWS! If you have any questions/suggestions, feel free to PM me :)**

**xoxo ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

(MAYA'S P.O.V.)

So Grace's plan to get back at Zoe didn't work.

Well, it didn't exactly _not_ work. Grace said it was too risky, not that I have any clue what she's talking out. So it was all up to me, it was all on me to get Zoe back and win back Zig.

Fighting with Zig was so hard, but I realized that if I wanted to win him back, I would have to get nasty. Like Zoe.

I realized that I had feelings for him the second he moved in my house. I just had to push him away - I had to. I was dating Miles. And by time Miles and I were done, Zig had been flirting around with Zoe.

Living with someone brings you closer together. I didn't see him as a brother, a friend. There was something there. There _always_ was something there. That feeling I got when he joined me on the couch at night to watch TV, or the feeling I got when he knocked on my door. That feeling when he would stand beside me when we brushed our teeth, or that feeling when he would ask me to join him when he made food. It was always there - the flutter in my heart. I tried to deny it, but I couldn't.

And the feeling I felt now - the feeling of him hating me, made me want to be invisible. As cocky as it sounds, it ached my heart. Seeing them together also ached my heart. Seeing him kiss her, seeing him cuddle her.

That should be me.

So there you have it, I confess my love for him. I finally am. And I'm okay with it. And I knew, I knew for a fact, he still felt it too. I believed in my heart he would always feel something more than friends towards me. When he loved me the most, I pushed him away. But no matter what, I knew Zig Novak would always have some kind of love towards me.

_One day._

oOo

"So what do we have to do for this stupid history project anyways?" Miles grunted, following me as I entered my front door. We were paired up for some History project, and we had to get together to work on it. We chose today to work on it, since he would be with Tristan, who by the way surprisingly didn't care if Miles and I hung out, for the rest of the week.

"I was thinking we could get some -" I began, but I was distracted. I heard a girl laughing. It was her.

She noticed me as I entered the kitchen, and instantly rolled her eyes.

"Uh, hey guys." I slowly said. I then felt Miles behind me.

"Aw, did desperate little Matlin feel _so helpless_ she had to go back to her ex boy toy?" Zoe giggled.

"Zo," Zig said, putting her arm on her shoulder. I could tell he didn't want a fight. He didn't want Zoe to flip out again.

"Zoe, really?" I heard Miles behind me.

"Thanks for the slap by the way," Zoe smiled.

"Anytime, _Zo_!" I smiled back. It killed her. I could tell. And I laughed, and I didn't regret it.

"What are you guys doing here?" Zig grunted. I wanted to slap him.

"First of all, it's _my_ house." I snapped. "Second, Miles and I have a project due. And considering the fact that you can't have girls in your room and I can't have boys in mine, I guess we'll have to share the living room."

I saw Zoe roll her eyes.

"Zig, I _thought_ we were going to watch a _movie_." Zoe sighed. Ha, watch a movie. You mean, end up making out or whatever the hell they did?

"Oh, I'm sorry Zoe. But last time I heard, I lived here, _not_ you. And it's my couch, not yours."

I heard Miles giggle behind me.

"Maya, chill out. Okay?" Zig snapped, which made me even more mad. Yeah, take her side. Again.

I sighed, grabbing Mile's arm.

"Well, Miles and I are taking the living room. We have to watch some film anyway." I began walking into the living room, and Miles followed me.

"Miles, will you excuse me as I talk to Maya?" Zig said, but with some attitude. He never liked Miles. Miles shrugged and entered the living room. Zig pushed me aside from Zoe.

"Can you lay off?" He rudely said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting your _Zoe time_? I'm sorry, really I am, considering the fact that she most likely won't be at _my_ house tomorrow, but at some other guys house. I apologize, okay? I have a history project to do." I smiled, beginning to walk into the living room. I felt him grab my arm gently, but I yanked out of his grasp.

_Good job, Matlin._

oOo

Miles ended up leaving around six, while Zoe left a little before five. She was probably pissed they couldn't have made out on my couch and did whatever they had in store. So, Zig went up into his room when she left, and he stayed there.

I was in my kitchen texting my mom about dinner plans. She was bringing home Chinese, my favorite. After sending her a text, I heard Zig walk in.

"Did you have to be such a bitch today?" He snapped. His words shocked me, and I'm pretty sure I jumped a bit. Zig had never called me a bitch. Ever.

"Excuse me?"

"To Zoe. First, you slap her in school. And then you come in here all nasty to her. She's done nothing to you, and you still manage to be a bitch to her."

He wasn't saying all of this. He was clueless, he was the bitch.

"_Oh my god,_ Zig." I laughed, but I could feel the tears in my eyes. I rubbed my forehead, shaking my head, walking closer to him. "You just keep letting her brainwash you, okay? She's doing a good job, make sure you let her know for me."

"Oh Maya, will you just give it a break!" He yelled so loud, it echoed in the kitchen. "Look, I know you don't like us together, considering the fact you tried to break us up, but -"

"Tried to_ break you guys up_?" I repeated, raising my voice. I wanted to slap him, push him, anything. "Wow," I laughed. "You have known me - for more than a year! And you should know, that I would never try to do that." I paused, looking at him. "You know, actually, it was usually always you trying to break people up. I mean, with _Cam_, and with _Miles_."

"Don't even go there, Maya."

"Sure, I hate Zoe. But I think you know that I would never try to break you two up, you just don't want to admit it."

"Yeah, because Maya's always right, right?" He yelled again. I realized that slapping him wouldn't make him realize how stupid he was being, so I held myself back. But that didn't stop the tears from falling, so I bit my lip, trying to fight them back.

"Sure. You know what, I'm done." I said, backing up, throwing my hands up. "I'm officially_ done_ fighting this. Zoe could do whatever she wants, and you can let her. That's fine, it's your relationship." I continued to back up. "Sorry I ever got involved."

Just then the front door opened, and my mother crutched in with a Chinese bag on her arm. She walked in, setting the bag on the counter.

"I got us Chinese," she smiled, sighing of relief that she was done walking.

"I'm not hungry anymore." I said, storming out of the kitchen, running into my room and slamming the door.

oOo

First period. Rubber Room.

I managed to walk in and not make eye contact with Zig, but it was kind of hard considering there were only two other people in the room. Grace followed behind me, and we set our books down.

"Is drama queen Novak still pissed at you?" Grace whispered. I nodded my head.

Mrs. Grell walked in, and saw that there was only about eight students in the room, including Zig, Tiny, Grace and I.

"Alright, since there aren't many of you today, you can have a free period." She said, and I heard Tiny cheer. "But, it will be silent. I'll be right across the hall if you need me."

Everyone cheered as she closed the door behind her. It was shocking how much she trusted us, when she wasn't in the room. I looked over at Zig, and he looked up at me, and managed to throw a mean look at me.

It was _killing_ me.

"Don't stress it, Matlin. He will get over it soon." Grace giggled.

"I don't think he will," I sighed, grabbing the books out of my bag. Tiny and Zig came to our table, Zig not making any contact with me.

"Grace, you got the math answers?" Tiny asked, and Grace rolled her eyes getting her math book out.

We all continued to do homework, talking as we did it. Zig didn't talk to me, though. He didn't even look at me, which hurt.

"Crap, my pencil broke." Tiny sighed. "I'll be right back."

The Rubber Room didn't have a pencil sharpener, which got annoying almost all the time. Tiny got out of his seat, and proceeded to go out in the hall, closing the door behind him.

"I don't think Tiny knows anything about math." Grace rolled her eyes, and I giggled. Zig remained silent, though.

There was then a loud noise, shocking everyone.

It was the loudest noise ever.

It was a gunshot.

_"Lockdown!"_ a voice over the loud speaker yelled.

oOo

**Okay, I know, it's short. BUT the next chapter will DEFINETLY make up for it!**

**So...a gunshot? This could only mean one thing...**

**Until next time ;)**

**xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

"Crap, my pencil broke." Tiny sighed. "I'll be right back."

The Rubber Room didn't have a pencil sharpener, which got annoying almost all the time. Tiny got out of his seat, and proceeded to go out in the hall, closing the door behind him.

"I don't think Tiny knows anything about math." Grace rolled her eyes, and I giggled. Zig remained silent, though.

There was then a loud noise, shocking everyone.

It was the loudest noise ever.

It was a gunshot.

"Lockdown!" a voice over the loud speaker yelled.

_"Oh my god,"_ I heard someone yell from outside the hall. Everyone was screaming from out in the halls, slamming of doors and stomping of shoes. I think everyone in the Rubber Room was in shock, since none of us moved from our seats. We all just looked at each other.

That changed when another gun shot rang in our ears.

"Everyone get down!" A tall girl ran into the classroom, crying, closing the door and hiding under a desk.

"Holy shit," Grace whispered, joining me as I hid under the desk. My heart was beating hard, as fear took over my entire body. I had no idea what I was even doing, or thinking. So much was going on. I realized Zig was right next to me, under the desk also, hugging his legs. Everything was happening to fast - it all happened in a matter of five seconds.

Then everything went silent.

The entire room was dead silent, the only sound coming from the hall ways of doors slamming. After the sounds of the doors, everything was completely and utterly silent. It was so silent, I could hear the silent cries coming from across the room. As far as I remembered, there were only nine of us in the room, including the girl who came running in.

I hugged my knees, breathing hard. Grace had her head bowed in her legs, as did Zig. I wasn't crying, not yet. My entire body was shaking too hard.

_Gunshot._

Everyone in the room gasped, as I began crying silently. As silently as I could be. I could feel Grace's shoulders shaking, since Zig, Grace and I were all crammed under our little table. Zig noticed my crying, and put his hand on my knee. I looked up at his face with my wet eyes. He looked so brave, but so scared.

Everything going on between us - I didn't remember. Not now. We were just Zig and Maya.

I hugged my knees tighter to my chest, crying into them.

It then came to me that Tiny wasn't in the room with us. For all I know, for all we know, the gunshot could've came from right outside our hall way. Tiny could be _dead._

Everyone remained silent, listening to each other's silent cries. Grace looked up at me, and she looked just as horrified as I did. It was shocking to see Grace scared. She always seemed like she was tough, brave. But how can anyone be brave when all of our lives are in danger? I reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. Her hand was shaky and sweaty, but she then squeezed mine back.

Footsteps were heard outside. That's when everyone's cries in the room got just a little louder.

"The door isn't locked," the tall girl who ran into the room whispered, crying.

Grace closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head. The door wasn't locked. Anyone could come in, at any time.

Maybe I thought too soon.

That's when the Rubber Room door burst open. I gasped a little, but then I felt Zig's hand over my mouth. I looked at him and he put his pointer finger to his lips, motioning me to be quiet. The door closed. I could see his feet from under our desk, as he walked over to Mrs. Grell's desk, and I heard him lay his gun on the desk. He then began breathing hard, pacing back and forth.

"Okay, everyone get up!" The voiced yelled. It was a male voice. I looked at Zig, who removed his hand from my mouth. His eyes widenend, as I gulped.

"Everyone get up _now_! Before I shoot one of you!" The voice screamed. I heard chairs move, as the other's from the other tables got up. I grabbed Grace's arm as us three got up.

He looked tired, mad, but scared. He was a tall boy - he looked like he could be a junior. He was more on the bigger side, and he wore a blue zip up jacket. He had brown, short hair. He wore glasses. I saw sweat forming on his forehead, as he clenched his fists.

"_Oh god_," he grunted, whipping his face with his palms, looking at all of us. I was unsure if my shaky legs could support me any longer. My heart felt like it would explode from beating so hard. I think I gasped when I saw him grab his gun off of the desk.

"Okay," he began, aiming the gun towards the ground. "I want half of you on one side of the room, the others on the other side." he pointed to each side of the room with his gun. Everyone quickly moved. Zig, Grace, and I began moving to the left side, along with another guy. The five others went to the other side, so we were all now across from each other, the shooter in the middle.

"Man," a boy on the other side of the room began. He was a black, skinny boy. We all called him Dunker, since he always dunked his pizza in ranch dressing. "What are you doing?"

"Shut up!" the shooter said, aiming his gun at Dunker. Dunker quickly put his hands up for defense, his hands shaking like crazy.

I looked at Zig, who wasn't crying, but it was visible that he was scared. He was scared as hell. He looked back down at me with a worried expression, opening his mouth to speak.

"Your cell," he mouthed the words. I was shaking so hard I couldn't tell out what he was saying. I then felt his hand on my back pocket of my jeans, taking my phone from it.

"Zig," I whispered, looking at the shooter as I spoke. The shooter was looking at Dunker, and everyone else on his side. Zig grabbed my arm, bringing me closer to him as he began doing something on my phone, hiding it behind my back.

_"Gah!"_ the shooter screamed, throwing his hands up in the air along with his gun still in hand. He was mad - really mad. It looked as if his glorious plan had been ruined.

The cries in the room got just a little louder, especially from the girl who had ran in the Rubber Room when the gunshots went off. I knew her, she was in my English class - and I believe her name was Cathy. She was a straight A student, from what I remembered. She stood next to Dunker, and I noticed how her arm linked onto his.

Everything was silent for a minute as the shooter paced back and forth, waving his gun in the air. He looked nervous. We all looked at each other, from across the room. Everyone looked devastated. All of the girls cried, except for Grace, who just looked lost. The boys tried to remain calm and strong, but I could tell some of them were cracking. The gunman could have, probably, killed someone already. He has the perfect opportunity to kill all of us if he wanted to.

Zig was still doing something with my back as his shield. He was on my phone, I didn't know what he was doing, but one hand still remained on my arm. I could feel him shaking.

"Hey!" the gunman said, aiming the gun my way. "What is he doing!?"

Zig jumped, quickly putting the phone on the table behind us.

"Nothing, man." Zig replied, putting his hands up.

_"Shit,"_ Grace whispered next to me.

"Were you just texting someone!?" He yelled again, walking closer to us and aiming a gun at Zig. I cried out, grabbing Zig's arm. Zig remained silent, unsure of what to say. The gunman stared at him, his hand holding the gun shaking.

"Alright, everyone throw their phones in the middle." He yelled, aiming the gun all around the room. Everyone across from us took their phones out of their pockets and gently tossed them in the middle. Then, he came over to Zig and I, aiming his gun at Zig as he reached for my phone that Zig lied on the desk.

"What's the fucking passcode?" He yelled, aiming the gun at me now.

"9...4..." I couldn't seem to get the words out of my mouth, I was crying and breathing too hard.

"9, 4, 1, 2." Zig finished for me. The gunman unlocked my phone, and he began to laugh.

"You couldn't even send the fucking message could you?" he laughed, looking down at my phone. "_Shooter in Rubber Room,_" he read the message that Zig had typed out loud. "_Send help."_ He laughed again. "Oh, well won't you look at that? A message to mom, I wonder how she would feel if she knew I was two inches away from you!" He screamed, throwing my phone against the black board. I heard the phone smash, the screen cracking. I cried more. Not because my phone was obviously broken, but because I was terrified. He was standing only two inches away from Zig and I, and he could kill us at any second.

"Don't cry, poor Matlin." He whispered, caressing my cheek with his hand that held the gun. I tightened my grip on Zig's arm.

"How do you know my name?" I cried. He laughed in response, beginning to walk away from us and towards the middle of the room.

"Do any of you even know my name?!" He screamed, aiming his gun everywhere again. Everyone remained silent. Everyone was crying too hard to speak. The sun was creeping through the blinds, and I could see Victoria Gash's face perfectly. She was a Rubber Room student as was I, and she looked like she was going to pass out. Everyone looked like that.

"Wow," he chuckled to himself, using the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. "Should've seen that one coming. I'm in this fucking class with you guys, how about that?"

Then it came to me. George Markus, was his name. He indeed was a Rubber Room student, but hardly made himself noticeable as he always sat in the back of the room, his nose in a book or his head bowed on the desk as if he was sleeping. I knew who he was now, and I noticed that everyone else did too.

"Do you know my fucking name!?" He screamed, walking over to a guy on the other side of the room from us. His name was Frank, he was put in the Rubber Room for missing so many classes. He was a good guy. He was probably the most well behaved in the class.

Frank gasped, staring at the gun in George's hand. Frank was sweating, all over his face. My god, he looked so terrified.

"Um," was all that came out of his mouth. He was panicking. Anyone with a gun aimed at them would panic.

"Yeah, uh huh, what is that?" The shooter laughed, waving his gun around Frank's face.

What I did next was what I didn't expect. I wasn't thinking, no I wasn't. Not at all. But at the time I knew I had to do something. I couldn't see someone die.

"George," my voice shook, as I took a step forward. I felt Zig and Grace grab each side of my arms, but I easily got out of their grasp. He slowly turned around, looking at me. "George Markus."

He stared at me. His glare almost killed me right then and there. My heart raced, my palms sweat, my legs shook.

"So shooter boy _finally_ has a name." George laughed, walking towards the middle again. Frank looked relieved.

"Why are you doing this?" I heard Grace say behind me.

"Why do you think I'm doing this?" George cried, not moving from his place. "Do you think I woke up this morning, wanting to kill everyone in this entire school? Do you really think I want to be doing this right now?"

"So then why are you doing it?" I asked.

"To prove a point, Matlin. I'm a _loser_ at this school, I get told it everyday by people I don't even know!" He cried. "That's the only time someone ever talks to me. This is the first time _any_ of you _bastards_ have talked to me."

His voice was cracking. He was cracking. I looked at Grace helplessly. She gave me a knowingly look. She didn't have to say anything to get her point across. We had to keep him talking, get deeper into him.

"Look," Zig began, putting his hands up for defense as he spoke. "I don't know you, but -"

"Exactly!" George aimed his gun at Zig, which caused me to gasp. "You never even took the time to _know_ me. You've been in this room _all this time_, all sophomore year, and you never _once_ spoke a word to me, or offered me to come into your group." George cried, his hand shaking as he aimed his gun at Zig. "All of you have never even looked at me for longer than a second!"

"But -" Zig started again, but George cut him off again.

"There are no but's. I know you, I know all of you, have seen what people do to me at this damn school. And not once, _not once_ has any of you ever tried to defend me, tried to _talk_ to me, tried to _help_ me." His aim at Zig was now solid, scaring me more than ever. His finger was on the trigger, aimed at Zig's head.

"Okay," I began, walking closer to Zig. "Can you just put the gun do-"

I didn't even have time to react. His arm moved so fast - so fast, from straight at Zig to straight at my leg.

Last thing I knew, I was on the ground, screaming.

He had shot me in the thigh.

"_Holy..."_ I yelped. I heard everyone scream, crying harder. George moved from in front of me, and I looked up and could manage to see through my tears that he was moving the desk to in front of the door.

"Maya," Zig cried. He was crying now, I could tell. I grasped onto my leg, crying. Grace was beside me too, grabbing onto my arm.

"Why the hell did you do that, man?" Zig yelled. His grasp was tight on my arm as he moved his hand to where my hand was on my leg. He had shot me right in the center of my left thigh. I don't think words could describe how much pain I was in. It felt as if my leg was being stabbed - over and over and over again. It felt as if my leg was on fire.

George remained silent, walking all around the room, putting desks and chairs in front of the door. Everyone was grabbing on to each other.

All I could think about was the pain in my leg.

But then out of no where, I thought of something else.

For a split second, I thought about Cam.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes passed.<p>

George was sitting at the teacher's desk, his face buried in his hands. The gun was still in his hand, and although he didn't look it, he was alert. Like at any moment he could just stand up and shoot.

From across the room, everyone was sitting against the wall now, some with their legs to their chests, some with their legs plastered in front of them. They were all huddled close, all crying.

I could hardly feel the pain anymore, that's how bad it hurt. I once heard that when you're in a lot of pain, over time you can hardly feel it after a while. All I knew, is that blood was everywhere.

By everywhere, I mean _everywhere_ around me. On Grace's legs, as she sat next to me. Also on Zig.

During those ten minutes, everyone was silent.

Zig had his arm around me the entire time, trying to help me breathe. Every two seconds he asked if I was okay. After a while, I said I was fine, even though I wasn't. I was far from fine. I was just shot in the leg. I knew he could tell I wasn't, also.

"Here, hold on." He whispered, bringing his hand to where I had been shot. "This might hurt." He touched it, and I winced in pain, tears flowing out of my eyes. People from across the room noticed, covering their mouths. They all looked pale.

"You're loosing a lot of blood, Maya." He whispered, taking his jacket off. "We need pressure on it."

"No, Zig. _Please no_." I wined. I was surprised George didn't get out of his seat. I knew he could hear, the way he looked up when he saw us talking. He let Zig help me though, he didn't speak a word.

"This is going to hurt, but just hang in there okay?" He said, looking into my eyes. I looked back at him, and I was surprised when all I could think about was kissing him. We were in a room with a shooter, I just got shot, and I wanted to kiss him.

Grace grabbed my hand as I nodded, giving Zig the signal to do whatever he was going to do. He lifted my thigh, causing me to wince. He then wrapped his jacket around my thigh, where I had been shot, and gently tied it into a knot.

"Holy _shit_," I silently cried, squeezing Grace's hand.

"You're okay," Zig assured me, finishing what he was doing. "You're loosing a lot of blood right now."

He was right, I was loosing a lot of blood. And as you know, loosing a lot of blood is bad. Really bad. I could already feel my breathing beginning to slow. I felt dizzy and lightheaded.

I breath out hard, as Zig leaned his back against the wall, next to me.

"Not fun getting shot, is it?" George mumbled, slowly getting out of his seat.

"You know, it isn't funny George." Zig snapped back. I gently rested my hand on Zig's, motioning him to not fight. I didn't need someone else getting shot.

George walked over to where I sat, looking down at my wound. Zig's hoodie was wrapped around it, but it was still bleeding pretty badly.

"You know, if you don't get her help, she could die." Aaron, a boy next to Zig said. He was also a Rubber Room student, and he was one of Zig and Tiny's friends. I always wondered if he was in the gang with them.

_Die._ The word die scared me. I once saw on a TV show once that someone died from the loss of blood, and from the looks of it, we weren't getting out of here anytime soon. I figured panicking would make it worse, so I tried to remain calm, although my mind was everywhere. I felt random shocks of pain in my leg every couple seconds.

George looked at Aaron, before turning around and taking a seat at the desk again.

"Man, are we just going to sit here for the rest of the day?" Dunker began standing up.

"Sit back down!" George yelled, aiming his gun at Dunker. Dunker put his hands up. sitting back down.

"Maybe you should just turn yourself in, man. Maya could loose her life." Dunker said again.

George laughed, shaking his head.

"Turn myself in," George repeated, laughing.

"At least let Maya go. She's in a lotta pain over there." He pointed to me. I didn't even realize how terrible I looked. I was feeling weaker and weaker every minute that went by. It felt as if the room was spinning.

George remained silent, sitting at his desk. I managed to move my neck so I was looking at Zig, and he quickly became alert and looked back.

"Zig," I weakily said, taking a deep breath.

"Huh?"

"I wasn't lying," I began. "I wasn't lying when I said Zoe cheated on you. I would never lie to you like that." I took another breath, gulping. "She's cheating on you. I'm really sorry Zig."

His face turned soft, I could tell. He was listening. He was really listening.

"She was right about one thing though," I started. "I do..." It felt as if I couldn't breathe. "I do have fe- feelings for you. I always have...always will." Everything was spinning, everything was going blurry.

"Maya," Zig begun, smiling. But then he realized that I was about to pass out. "Maya! Maya breathe." He gasped, grabbing my hand. "Maya, stay awake, you're going to be okay."

I began breathing harder, but I was feeling so weak, so dead.

"Maya," I heard Grace say. Before I knew it, Dunker was right in front of me, and everyone was standing up, their hands covering their mouths.

"She needs a doctor, _now."_ Dunker said, walking towards George. I could still see, but barely. I could hear a helicopter from outside, and thousands of sirens.

George began to panic, as he walked towards where I was sitting. He was sweating, but I could see he was crying also.

"Man, just let her go." Dunker cried, begging to George. "You can keep us all in here, but just let the poor girl go."

I was ready to jump - well not actually jump considering I was shot in the leg - to any opportunity to leave. I could hear George breathing heavily, as everyone cried, watching as I was ready to pass out.

Then, he walked towards the door, moving the desks he had piled up against it.

"Okay, everyone listen here." He screamed, aiming his gun once again. "Maya is the only one leaving here. The rest of you are staying!"

"Maya can't walk, man." Dunker said.

"I'll carry her." Zig quickly said. George sighed, whipping his forehead.

"Come on, this girl can loose her life." Dunker begged.

"Okay, Zig and Maya are going. The rest of you, up against that wall!" He pointed to the opposite wall. I felt Grace squeeze my hand gently.

"Everything will be okay, Maya." She said. I looked at her, my eyes feeling heavy, as if they would shut any minute.

Next thing I knew, I was in Zig's arms. He gently picked me up, trying to reduce any pain he would cause by picking me up. I winced of pain as he picked me up, but I could start to feel myself loose consciousness. George led Zig to the door, me in Zig's arms.

"Go," George huffed, opening the door. Zig stopped and looked at him, before walking out.

Zig began running down the hall, but he must have heard the small little whine that escaped my lips, and walked a little slower.

"Everything's going to be alright, Maya." He breathed, looking down at me. My eyes were half way closed, but I was still somewhat there.

"Zig," I whispered. My voice was so small. He looked down at me again.

"I love you."

Blackout.

* * *

><p><strong>WHAT WHAT WHAAAAAAAAAT.<strong>

**Oh my goodness, this chapter was a tough one. Firstly, I have NO idea what it feels like to be shot in the leg, so my description might have been brief. Secondly, I have never experienced the feeling of a gun aimed at me, so I kind of had to use my mind and Google, haha! BUT I think I got the point across pretty good. **

**SOOOOOO, what will happen next?! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Want more? Let me know in the reviews!**

**Until next time...**

**xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

(ZIG'S P.O.V.)

"Just Zig and Maya," George said, pointing his gun to the door. I looked at him, and he looked at me, nodding his head. I knew I couldn't waste any time - I needed to get Maya out of there. As gently as I could, I swooped her small body up in my arms easily. I made sure I had good grip of her, not putting too much pressure on her leg. She wrapped her arm around my neck weakily, resting her head on my shoulder. I could feel her blonde hair on my chin.

I walked to the door with George, and he opened it. I paused before I left, looking at George.

"Thanks," I whispered. George nodded.

"Go,"

And I did go. I ran. I slowed down when I heard Maya moan, she was in pain. Her eyes looked so heavy, so hurt. I was scared out of my life for her.

"You're going to be okay, Maya." I said, walking as fast as I could to the entrance to Degrassi.

"Zig," I heard her say my name. I looked down at her green eyes, that were slowly closing. My heart was beating so fast. I couldn't imagine the pain she was in right now. I had been in a gang for almost a year, never have been shot.

"_I love you_." She whispered. I caught my breath, looking at her as I kept walking. Her small eyes slowly closed beneath her glasses.

That's when I ran. As fast as I could out of that school. I made my way to the entrance, and I was met by a cop who was outside the door with a gun. It wasn't just one cop, it was about ten. They were all alert. They saw me, and quickly opened the door.

There was more than I would say 200 people outside. Worried parents, crying fathers, a hundred cops. Immediately, a cop ran up to me and grabbed Maya out of my arms.

"She was shot," I cried. "Please help her."

* * *

><p>Out of all the floors of this hospital, they had to choose the last floor. The busiest floor.<p>

I paced in the waiting room, not so sure what to do. I waited for any doctor to give me information on how Maya was doing.

Waiting rooms suck, let me start off by saying that. They are depressing, small, and boring. It's also uncomfortable, considering the only station playing on the TV was the news. All that was on the news was Degrassi. I discovered they got George. They got him about five minutes after I had ran out with Maya in my arms. No one in the Rubber Room was shot, no one in the school was killed. There were some injuries, but the only person who actually got shot was Maya.

I had seen Tiny five minutes ago. He was at the hospital for stitches. He had scraped his stomach on broken glass when he fell to the floor, and the cut was pretty deep. He was worried about Maya also, but he only had a matter of seconds to talk to me. I was hardly able to tell him what happened.

I was still shooken up about what had just happened only ten minutes ago. I was in a room, with a school shooter. I had had a gun pointed at me. I had just seen Maya get shot. It felt like it all happened in the process of five minutes. I had never been more scared - not at the gun being pointed at me, but her.

I prayed to God she was okay. I would never forgive myself if she wasn't. The way I treated her - the way I spoke to her. I won't ever forgive myself for that. I called her a bitch. If she wasn't okay, I would never be able to live with it.

I was separated from my thoughts when I saw Ms. Matlin running as fast as her legs could down the hallway, towards me. I ran to meet her. She was a mess.

"Where the hell is my daughter?" She cried, and I brought her into my arms.

"She's with doctors right now, they haven't told me much yet." She cried into my chest, hardly able to keep herself up. So this is what it looked like. This is what a caring mother looked like. She was torn. She was so scared. Her daughter had been shot in a school shooting.

"I'm going to go talk to that doctor over there, okay?" She gulped. I nodded and let her past me, patting her back gently.

A girl with a blue little skirt came running my way, and it was obvious it was Zoe.

"Zig!" She cried, running into my arms. I was shocked to see her, and that was when everything that Maya had told me back in the Rubber Room came back to me.

"I just heard what happened," Zoe cried, separating from me. "We were thirty minutes away for our competitions - guess it was a good day to have them. Where's Maya? Is she okay?"

"She's in with the doctor's now. She was shot in the leg."

"Oh my god," she covered her mouth, walking past me and beginning to pace. "Well will she be alright!?"

"I don't know yet," I replied. "Maybe."

She looked at me with sad eyes.

"Well how are you?" she frowned, placing her tiny hands on my cheeks. "How's my boyfriend? It must have been so - so_ terrifying_ for you." She rested her forehead on my chin. "I was so worried about you when I heard what happened. I was hardly able to get through my competition."

I was unsure why I said what I said next. Maya was in a hospital bed, and for a split second I thought about my relationship. With Zoe.

"Were you worried about me? Or Matt?" I said. She slowly looked up at me, and her eyes never looked so shocked and nervous.

"What?"

"Zoe, no." I sighed. "I know what you did, and I-"

"Zig -"

"I can't...I can't _do this_ right now, okay? Maya's a mess...her mom's a mess...and I, I just think you should go."

I saw tears begin to form in her eyes as she bit her lip.

"I'm sorry Zig," she cried silently. "I'm so sorry. I just, I..."

"I don't think that there's anything you can say or do to fix this," I firmly stated. "You know, I believed you. I was so - so _blind_. I defended you, I called Maya a bitch and I _betrayed_ her. And you," I pointed at her. "_You_ let me do that."

"Zig," she shook her head slowly, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Just go," I blankly said. "Just please...leave."

She stood there for a couple more seconds, before turning around and leaving the same way she came in.

A couple seconds after she left, I was met by Tristan and his brother, Owen.

"Oh my god, Zig." Tristan cried, hugging me. I was shocked, but I hugged him back. He was shaking really hard. "Is she okay?"

I shrugged, and he bit on his fingernail.

"I was in the library when it happened," he stuttered.

"George Markus," Owen said, looking at the TV. "He tutored me last year."

"Wait, George tutored you?" I asked him, and Owen nodded.

"Yeah. I was failing Algebra II, if it weren't for him I wouldn't have graduated." He shook his head. "He was a good guy, taught me a lot."

"_Wait_," Tristan paused. "A _freshman_ tutored you in Alg II?"

"Drop it," Owen threatened.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around, to find a police officer and a doctor.

"Zig Novak?" the doctor said, taking his glasses off.

"Yeah, that's me. What's going on?"

"You were the one to take Maya out of the classroom?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah, is she okay?" I immediantly asked.

"She's unconscious still, but she should be okay." I sighed of relief. "Good thinking, putting pressure on the leg." He nodded his head.

"She could have visitors now," he continued, pointing to the door she was in. "I'll go find her mother."

I looked at Tristan, who still bit on his fingernail.

"You go, Zig." Tristan said. "I'll be out here."

* * *

><p>(MAYA'S P.O.V.)<p>

I woke up, I knew I was awake. But I didn't open my eyes at first, I didn't need to. I knew Zig was sitting beside me. I just wanted to listen to his voice, before I was officially up, before all of the complications continued.

He was ranting on about how much he hated hospitals. How he hated the chairs, the walls, the floors, the smell, the paintings, everything. He then went on to explain how he went to the hospital once in eigth grade. He fell off his skateboard, and he needed stitches in his hand. He was so hungry, so he went to the venting machine to get a candy bar, and the candy bar 'sucked'.

I couldn't help but smile, and he noticed.

"Maya," I didn't have to open my eyes to see him smile, I just knew he was. I slowly opened my eyes.

"You're awake," he smiled, kissing my forehead. I gave him a weak smile.

"Barely," I chuckled. That's when the sharp pain in my leg returned, a familiar pain. Zig must have noticed.

"Are you okay?"

"Mmm," I nodded my head. "Just a little pain." I lied, and he chuckled because he knew I was lying. He continued to tell me how they got George, and thankfully no one else was as injured as I was. I sighed of relief when he told me Tiny was alright.

"Seeing him aim that gun at you," Zig frowned. "It _killed_ me."

His hand lied on my hospital bed, and I took it and squeezed it.

"I'm okay, Zig. I'll be okay." I assured him, and he nodded, smiling.

It was silent for a couple seconds, and I could tell he was thinking about what had happened.

"Oh, Zoe came by." Zig said.

"Oh, wow. She did?" I asked, and he nodded.

"I broke up with her," I widened my eyes. "Atleast I think I did."

"Zig, I'm sorry..."

"No, I should be the one apologizing, Maya." He sighed. "I was so...so mean to you. I should have believed you."

"Yeah, you should have." I said.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I was so stupid. I don't know what got into me and I..."

"Zig," I smiled. "It's okay. I'm just happy we are good now...and not dead." I chuckled, and he did too. He squeezed my hand.

He continued on to tell me that Dunker texted him, letting him know everything was well. I never knew Dunker on a personal level, but I knew he had some responsibility in saving my life. I hoped he would come by soon.

"So," I began. "How did you know my passcode?" I remembered he had known it, and he was going to text my mother before George caught him. It was brave of him to do, I admired him for that.

He giggled.

"I saw you put it in your phone so many times. You've had the same password for, like, a year." He paused. "9, 4, 1, 2."

I smiled for a second.

"September 4th, 2012." I said, and he looked at me confused. "I'll save that story for another day."

Zig narrowed his eyes, but shrugged it off.

"So, are you okay...like mentally?" Zig asked. "With your anxiety and all of that, it must have been terrible for you in that classroom."

"I'll be fine," I assured him. "I mean, today will haunt me for the rest of my life. But I'm just glad no one got seriously hurt."

He nodded his head. We sat there for a few moments not saying anything.

"And I'm just glad I have you back," I smiled.

He returned the smile. "I am too."

* * *

><p>The doctors said I could go home the next day. They wanted to make sure I was 100% A.O.K. I would be in a wheelchair for about a week or so, and then be on crutches, which would be fun.<p>

It was about 8 o'clock P.M., Zig and my mom were in the cafeteria. I was watching the news, and I wasn't surprised to see Degrassi all over it.

_"Student George Markus brought a weapon onto school grounds, threatening it on students,"_ the reporter went on. She was in the Rubber Room. _"Ten specific students were threatened, as they were in the same room as George for more than an hour."_

I thought about switching the channel.

_"Thankfully no one was killed on the scene, but one student was shot in the thigh. Sources say she will be alright."_

Wow, I was on the news and they couldn't even say my name?

"Are you _seriously_ watching the news right now?" Owen walked in, grinning at the TV. I turned it on mute.

"Hey,"

"Hey sport," he said, walking over to my bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Eh, sore." I replied.

"I should feel lucky I graduated a year ago," he joked. I giggled.

"Speaking about graduating, shouldn't you be back at school right now if you want to graduate college?"

He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I'm going to go back sooner or later."

"You didn't get kicked out...did you?"

"No! No," he quickly replied. "I'm just dealing with...stuff."

I eyed him.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff like _this_," he pointed to my leg. "Stuff like school shootings. I gotta keep an eye on my brother," he said. "And my little sis."

I smiled at him.

"Well, it's good you're going back." I sighed. He ended up leaving soon later, and I was left alone in my room. I persuaded Zig and my mother to go home and rest, I was okay. And I was okay. I mean, my leg hurt - like hell.

But mentally, I wasn't alright. Having a gun pointed at you is one thing, but actually being shot is a whole other thing. It was scary, thinking about what had happened. It's so surprising to think that Degrassi could have a shooting like that. Mostly everyone at Degrassi knew each other, it was weird that no one knew George. George was the type of guy who hardly made himself noticeable, but he still cried for help, yet no one noticed.

Is it bad that I feel bad for him? I kept thinking that to myself. In the real world, everyone would hate the guy that went into the school with a gun. And trust me, I hated him for what he did, I hated him for threatening a gun on the Rubber Room kids, and shooting me in the leg. But at the same time, I wonder what was going through his head. Had he planned this? Was he just so depressed and lonely that he wanted to prove a point? Could he have proved a point in a better way, other than bringing a weapon into school?

I could feel my eyes grow heavy as I drifted off into sleep.

* * *

><p>"<em>Zig!<em> Zig slow down!" I yelled through my laughs. I was in my wheelchair, in my house. I was finally released from the hospital. Zig had been wheeling me all around my house all day, and he was getting a kick out of it.

"I hate you," I laughed even harder, as he let go of the wheelchair. He quickly got a hold of it as he saw me quickly approaching the wall.

"You could never hate me," Zig smirked, turning my wheelchair around.

"Help me up," I said. We were in the living room, and all I could think about was getting out of this stupid chair and laying on my couch.

Zig took my hand in one of his hands, and his other arm wrapped around my back as I began to stand up.

"You okay?" He asked me as I got up. I nodded, but I wasn't. It hurt like crazy, but I didn't want to look like a baby in front of him. He lowered his arm, so it was right above my butt, and I'm not lying when I felt shivers down my spine. I guess he could tell.

"Sorry," he nervously laughed as I finally got to the couch.

"Thanks," I sighed. "Who knew it could be so hard to sit on a couch." I patted the cushion beside me, motioning him to sit down next to me. He moved the wheelchair, and then he sunk into the couch.

"Okay," I began, turning the TV on. "Dance Moms, or Gossip Girl?"

He sighed, hitting his forehead. "Really? Why those two?"

"They're the only shows on," I giggled. He thought for a moment, before finally choosing Gossip Girl.

Even though he tried his hardest to show that he hated the show, I could tell he enjoyed being here, with me. I enjoyed him being there too. It was just like old times.

My back was beginning to hurt from sitting up for so long, so I shifted my body, sprawling my legs out over Zig's lap.

"Aw, come on." Zig sighed, but laughed.

"Oh, you'll get over it." I replied, getting myself comfortable.

"Are you trying to cuddle with me, Maya Matlin? Because if you are, you should've just asked." He smirked, his funny smirk. I hit his arm.

"Mmm," I hummed. He pushed his recliner up, and rested his hands on my legs, trying not to hurt my bad leg. Although there wasn't much body contact, I felt close to him, and I liked it. Being with him again - hearing him make fun of Chuck from Gossip girl - it felt good, it felt like home.

"Have you heard from Zoe?" I randomly asked him as a commercial played. He sighed.

"Well, she's called. But I never answer."

"I'm sorry about that, that she did that. You didn't deserve it," I sighed. He shrugged, looking at me.

"I guess it was for the best. It opened my eyes, a lot."

"How?"

"Mmm," he mocked me from before. I hit his arm again, and he hit my leg. I winced, as I felt pain in my left leg. He immediately apologized, asking if I was okay like a million times. As he kept apologizing, I hoisted myself up with my arms, kissing his cheek, more near his lips. After I did so, he shut up, looking into my eyes, then looking at my lips.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked me.

"Mmm," I hummed. He chuckled, before bringing his lips to mine. He slowly kissed me, passionately. I put my hands on his neck, so I would stay up. He grabbed my back, helping me in the process. I looked into his eyes, before kissing him again, more hungrily than the last. He instantly returned the favor, as I slipped my tongue in his mouth, as he did the same. The kiss was intimate, probably the more intimate kiss I've ever had. We continued to kiss like that for a couple seconds, before we both separated for air.

"What are we doing?" I asked him. He smiled.

"What we've both wanted to do the second I moved in," And then his lips were on mine again.

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><p><strong>xoxo :)<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Have been getting questions as to if I am continuing this story - yes I am. Don't know how many chapters are left in this story, but there are a few, I know that! I have also began writing another story, called "History That Keeps Repeating". I will be writing both of these at the same time, since they are two very different stories. So yes, if you want to keep seeing this story, let me know! :)**

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><p>(MAYA'S P.O.V.)<p>

"Are you sure you're good to go today, sweetie?" My mother asked, watching me struggle on my crutches. I was struggling to even get to my kitchen counter to sit down for breakfast. I was finally done with my wheel chair, and crutches were even worse.

"_Yes mom,_ I'm sure." I nodded, taking a sigh of relief after I finally made it to the kitchen chair.

"Okay," she sighed. She was obviously worried about me going back. It was my first day going back to Degrassi since the shooting. It was everybody's first day back. Degrassi had called a couple days off, to let everyone just relax and try to get over what happened. They also had to repair some windows, since gunshots were fired at them.

"Morning, ladies." Zig walked in smiling. He seemed happy, by the way he was smiling. Zig and I had been more friendlier lately, since our whole 'make-out session' the other day. We hadn't really kissed since, but he kept throwing little flirty comments my way. I enjoyed it, to be honest.

"Morning Zig," my mother smiled back. "I made pancakes. Big day today."

"Yeah, an awkward one." He replied, taking a seat by me.

"First day seeing everyone again since everything happened..." she said. She was worried. She was a mother. Mother's worried like that.

"Yeah, it'll be fun walking around school in crutches, being known as the girl who got shot." I joked. Everyone was concerned about me. I got millions of Facerange posts on my wall, making sure I was okay. I hadn't replied to any of them, since I really didn't want to take the sympathy. Instead, Zig wrote on my wall, saying I was fine. I was surprised to see Zoe liking it.

"Zig, please just watch out for her today, okay?" my mom sighed. "I'm so worried my baby will fall." She rested her hand on my cheek, and I embarrassingly removed it.

"You got it, Ms. Matlin." Zig smiled, resting his arm on the back of my chair.

* * *

><p>School was awkward. It was really awkward.<p>

Everyone was silent at first, in the hall ways on the way to homeroom. I tried not to make myself noticeable, as I just quickly crutched to my locker. Zig insisted on walking with me, but I told him that I didn't need a body guard.

When I finally got to my locker, my locker neighbor scooted away, making sure I had enough room.

"I'm fine," I smiled, and he smiled back. I could hear whispers in the hall ways, people talking to their friends about how George had gotten arrested.

I opened my locker and rested my crutches against the locker next to me. I took my book bag off, making sure to keep my leg risen. It was hurting like hell today. I got my books out, fiddling with the zipper to my bag. All the sudden, someone was beside me, helping me stand up straight without falling.

"You okay?" A girls voice said. I looked up to realize Zoe standing beside me, helping me open my bag to put my books in. I was shocked.

"Uh, yeah...I'm fine." I slowly said.

"Here, let me carry that for you." Zoe said, taking the book bag out of my hands and wrapping it around her shoulder.

"Uh, last time I heard from you, you were telling me how you wanted to _ruin my life_. Remember that?" I chuckled, but not in a good way. I let her take my book bag, I needed the help anyways. I grabbed my crutches, beginning to crutch down the halls as she followed.

"I know, and I'm sorry." she pleaded. "I was such a bitch to both you and Zig. I deserved everything coming to me, you were right." She said, walking beside me. "How's your leg?"

"My leg is fine, thanks." I stopped walking, taking my bag out of her hand, since I was at my homeroom.

"Maya, I'm really sorry again. I miss you, hanging out and stuff. I shouldn't have tried to mess that up, I'm so stupid."

"You should have thought of that before you tried to ruin my relationship with Zig,"

"You're right, you're right about everything." she cried. "How's Zig?"

"How's Zig?" I repeated. "Uh, well considering you cheated on him..." I paused, smiling. I suddenly remembered what had happened just a few days ago, when we had our little moment. "He's actually doing really good. He's been better than_ ever_."

She was silent at first.

"I deserved that too," she sighed. "Just know that I'm sorry."

"I know," I nodded, and then I turned around and walked into homeroom.

* * *

><p>I didn't know walking into the Rubber Room would bring me such an eerie feeling. Everything in that room now reminded me of something horrifying. It was like I was walking into George holding the gun, everyone against the wall crying.<p>

When I walked in, almost everyone was already there. All eyes went on me, as I slowly crutched in, going over to my table. Grace helped me by taking my bag. Everyone was kind of silent, except a couple conversations going on.

"Maya?" I turned around and saw Dunker standing beside my chair.

"Dunker, hey." For some reason, seeing him was comforting. I gained so much respect for him.

"Hey, how are you doing? I wrote something on your FaceRange wall." He took a seat by me.

"Yeah, I haven't been on much. I'm doing okay, thanks Dunker." I took his hand and squeezed it. He returned the favor, and went back to his seat when Mrs. Grell walked in. She was silent as she set her bag down on the table.

"Are you sure being in here is...okay for you?" Zig whispered beside me. I nodded my head.

"It's just as scary for me as it is for everyone else."

Mrs. Grell walked to the center of the room, looking at everyone.

"What comes to everyone's minds when I say the word...anger?" She said, looking around at all of us.

People were silent at first, before Dunker raised his hand.

"Destructive."

"_Destructive,_" Mrs. Grell repeated, nodding. "Anyone else?"

"Us," another voice called out in the back. I was surprised it was coming from Frank's mouth.

"Us," Mrs. Grell repeated again. "Why is that, Frank?"

"It's like you're totally forgetting what happened only a few days ago," Frank raised his voice. "A couple of days ago, a couple of students in here had _a gun_ pointed to their heads, some lunatic was threatening to kill all of us. He even shot someone in here, that right there is anger."

"He wasn't a lunatic." Another girl's voice said. Her name was Samantha Groff. She wore all black every single day, she had red hair and pale skin. She hardly ever said a word in class. Actually, I don't think I've ever heard her talk. It reminded me of George, how no one ever heard him say anything.

"He wasn't a lunatic!?" Frank yelled. "So a boy just walks into school, shoots a couple of bullets, locks us in a room with him so he can wave a gun at us, shoots someone, and he is just a normal guy like all the rest of us?!"

"_Woah woah woah_," Mrs. Grell pined in. I looked at Grace and Zig, whom were shocked.

"He was a person,_ just like the rest of us_!" Samantha yelled. Frank sat back in his seat, laughing.

"You were in the room when he was screaming like a maniac, waving his gun everywhere. How is that a 'normal human being'?" Aaron spoke up. Aaron was Zig and Tiny's friend.

"Maybe if you guys showed him some respect or paid any attention to him, he wouldn't have done something like that." Samantha snapped back.

"Okay, everyone just..." Mrs. Grell started. "Okay. It looks like we all have some anger piled in, but we should discuss it in a less destructive way."

"No," Frank defended himself. "No that is _no_ reason to bring a gun into school."

"Frank just _chill out_, okay?" Grace finally stood up, which shocked me.

"You're seriously going to defend her, Grace?" Frank pointed to Samantha.

"Do you even know what my first name is?" Sam lowly said. Frank was silent. "_Exactly_."

"Students," Mrs. Grell yelled.

"No, no this all doesn't matter! Maya over there was shot _in the leg_, and probably won't ever be able to walk normally again because somebody couldn't keep his temper in check."

"Just shut up, man." Dunker broke in. "He had his reasons, thankfully Maya wasn't hurt. We all suffered that day, fighting about it doesn't change anything."

"I can't believe all of you are sticking up for Gavin, George, whatever the hell his name is." Frank threw his hands up.

"We aren't sticking up for him, man." Dunker softly said. "He had a point though, none of us even knew his name, except for Maya."

I was shocked I was the only one. I only knew him because I was his partner once.

"Obviously that doesn't make what he did right in any way," Dunker was standing now. "But this should open our eyes, there are so many people in this school who feel like they're a nobody because we don't notice them."

"You all are _pathetic_." Frank whispered.

"People like _you_ are the reason why Campbell Saunders killed himself." Samantha cracked.

Her words shook something inside of me. Hearing his name again, especially in a way like that, just shook me.

"_Don't_ bring Campbell into this," I whispered. Zig heard me, and he put his hand on my leg.

"Okay everyone just _stop_!" Mrs. Grell broke in. It was the loudest I've ever heard her yell before. "I wasn't in the room when it happened, and I can't imagine what you guys were feeling with it all happened, but arguing about something like this won't help anything. We can't change what happened."

"But we can change what happens in the future," Dunker said.

"You're right, Dunker."

"I'm out of here," Frank shook his head.

"Mr. take a seat." Mrs. Grell threatened. But he didn't listen, he walked out and slammed the door behind him. Everyone went silent, and I looked over at Sam, who had her arms crossed across her chest.

"Mrs. Groff," Mrs. Grell looked at Sam. "Are you friends with George?"

"I was just someone who actually noticed him," she snapped back, taking her bag and walking out of the room. Mrs. Grell tried to stop her, but nothing was stopping Sam from walking out.

"With all do respect, Mrs. Grell," Grace started, and I was shocked to hear nice words coming out of her mouth. "_Well_," she added. "I think we all just need some time to discuss what happened with each other, I think it would be comforting."

"I agree, man." Dunker added on. "_Ma'am_, I mean."

Then the loud speaker came on.

"Students of Degrassi," Mr. Simpson spoke. "We will be holding an assembly last period today, to speak about the recent events going on in our school."

_Great._

* * *

><p>Let me just tell you, crutching into a huge crowd is not fun.<p>

The assembly was absolutely pointless. All that happened was - Mr. Simpson explaining how we are all a family, and will get through this "together", and a couple of police officers came in. I sat by Zig and Dunker. Dunker was still pissed off about what went on in the Rubber Room. Everyone was kind of POed about it. I understood where Frank was coming from, but Samantha had a point.

I was laying on my bed later that night, listening to my headphones and flipping through a magazine. All I had been doing lately is sitting in bed, or on the couch. It was annoying, not being able to do much. My leg was still in a lot of pain, and the doctor recommended me to be relaxing at all times except during school hours.

I guess I didn't hear Zig knock because of my headphones, and he just walked in. I took them out, sitting up.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, and he walked over to my bed.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, _bored_."

He chuckled, taking my magazine.

"_When to know he's the one_," he read the article title I was reading out loud, and he laughed.

"Oh shut it," I said, grabbing the magazine from him.

"So the Rubber Room was interesting today," he said, getting comfortable on my bed. I lied down also, and we were both staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, it was. Frank was...well he was angry."

"Yeah, the guy had a point though."

"So did Samantha," I turned my head so I was looking at him.

"Yeah, she did. I was surprised she brought up..." he paused.

"Cam?"

"Yeah."

"You can say his name, you know." I said in a low tone, looking back up at the ceiling. I could feel his eyes on me.

"I know...I just, I don't want you to..."

"It's okay," I whispered. Then we were both silent again, staring up at the ceiling. To be honest, I missed this. When him and Zoe were dating, he would hardly come in my room and talk to me like he usually would. This felt normal, both just staring at the ceiling, thinking about things.

"You know," I began. "My dad hasn't called or even texted this entire time, to check if I was alright."

Zig looked over at me.

"Maybe he doesn't know."

"Oh he knows," I rolled my eyes. "It was all over the news."

"Maybe he doesn't watch the news."

"When Katie was overdosing on pills not too long ago, he called. He was freaking out, he was so scared for her. I get shot in the leg, and he doesn't even send a text."

He was silent, looking at me.

"He doesn't even care if his own daughter is alright." I added on. I felt bad for talking to him about this, considering he probably had no idea what to say.

"I'm sure he cares -"

"He doesn't," I cut him off, looking at him. "He never has, never about me. It was always Katie he cared about, it was always her. I haven't received a birthday card from him in over 5 years, let alone a _stupid_ phone call."

I looked up at the ceiling again, trying to fight back my tears. I hated my dad, I hated him ever since he left. But not hearing from him, made me feel like I didn't matter to him. I probably didn't matter to him.

"I'm sorry, My." Zig took my hand into his. "He's crazy. He's missing out on the great girl you've become."

"Ha, _great girl_."

"I'm not lying, Maya." He propped himself up on his elbow, so he was looking down on me. "You've become like - an amazing girl. You're sweet, you're caring, you put others before yourself..." he went on. "And plus, you're beautiful."

"Oh stop," I giggled, hitting his stomach. "You're making me _bluuush_."

"Well it's all true," he said. "If he doesn't want that kind of girl in his life, than he's crazy."

I chuckled, taking his compliment. It made me feel better, he always made me feel better.

"Zoe talked to me today," I said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh god, what did she say?"

"She was like,_ 'I'm so sorry, Maya. You were right, about everything.'_"

He was laughing as I was telling him, which caused me to laugh.

"She even asked how you were," I added on.

"Oh yeah? What did you say?"

"I said you were doing great," I smiled. He smiled too.

"Good, because I _am_ doing great." He nodded. He then looked over at my crutches.

"Hey, wanna do something fun?" He smirked.

"Oh god, what's your definition of _fun_?" I said, sitting up. He got off of my bed, rubbing his hands.

"Let's have a race to the kitchen," he smiled.

"What! No! You know I can't ru-" He was already out of the door.

"You_ asshole_!" I yelled, getting off my bed as quickly as I could, gathering my crutches. By time I was already out of my room, he was by the staircase. I crutched over to them, and he was already half way down.

"Come on Maya, you can do it!" He laughed, and I was laughing the whole way, trying to crutch down as fast as I could. I guess I lost my balance, because I fell. I fell midway down the stairs, while Zig was on the last step. He fell, also, when I fell onto him.

"Oh my god, Maya." He spoke underneath me. "Are you okay? Holy crap, are you crying?"

I wasn't crying. I was laughing, I was laughing probably the hardest I ever had, which was causing me to cry.

"No..." I managed to get out through my laughs. "That was fun."

"Oh my god, Maya." He began laughing too, under me. I couldn't control my laughter. I was surprised it didn't hurt.

"_Oh my god, Maya_." I mocked his scared voice, laughing through it.

"Oh you're going to get it, Matlin." He gently flipped me over, so he was on top of me.

"Ow, ow!" I winced, and again he looked scared, as he quickly got off of me.

I began laughing again, as I sat him and hit him on the stomach with my crutch.

"You need to quit being so worried about me, I'm fine." I chuckled, and he hit me back playfully.

"You're terrible," he laughed, getting up, helping me up in the process. "Just for that, I'm eating the rest of the Chinese leftovers."

"Oh no you won't, Novak. If you know what's best for you!" I crutched over to the kitchen, pushing him in the process.

This was the Zig I liked. The playful Zig. I was so happy to have him back in my life. It was the happiest I was in a while.

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><p><strong>So I'm sorry this chapter was short and choppy... I have something in mind that I want to discuss in this story still, but other than that, I don't know how much more deeper I will go into this story. But really, if you have any suggestions or requests, feel free to message me on here about them. I could use them!<strong>

**xoxo ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

(ZIG'S P.O.V.)

"How cool was Mrs. Grell today, man." Dunker said, walking out of the Rubber Room with Tiny and I.

"She let us have the entire period to do anything we wanted," Tiny added on.

"Probably because of everything going on," I added. "Everyone was silent...how is that cool."

"Well it's better than what we have been doing," Dunker replied. "People still stare at me in the halls like I'm some victim." Dunker shook his head, thinking about what happened just a week ago.

"Uh oh," Tiny whispered. "Ex girlfriend alert."

I looked to my left to see Zoe walking towards me. I sighed. The last thing I needed on my mind was her.

"Good luck, man." Dunker patted my shoulder, walking away with Tiny. I kept walking, just for Zoe to follow me.

"Zig," I heard her say, and then she grabbed my arm. "Zig, can we talk?"

"About what, Zoe?" I sighed, opening my locker.

"Do you think we can meet at the Dot, or something?" She asked. "Not as a date or anything..." She paused. "I just want to talk to you."

I sighed again, stuffing my books in my locker. I didn't know what to say, to be honest. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to her. I had so many other things to worry about.

"Zoe...I don't know. Maya's on crutches and I should probably get her home."

"Can't Grace or Tristan take her home?" She pleaded. "I'm sorry Zig, I just want to talk, considering we haven't since that day at the hospital."

I looked at her, thinking. Maybe if I just talked to her, she would leave both Maya and I alone. After watching all of those shows with Maya while she is glued to the couch because of her leg - Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars - I learned that girls always need closure, and they won't stop until they get it.

"Fine," I replied, and she smiled. "Just to talk."

* * *

><p>"So," Zoe began, sipping out of her coffee.<p>

"So," I boringly replied.

"Zig," She began, taking my hands. I took them away from her though. "I just want you to know how sorry I am. I've been -"

"Why did you do it?" I mumbled.

"Huh?"

"_Why_ did you do it?" I said again, louder. "Was I not good enough for you?"

She sighed, looking at me.

"I don't know why I did it. Everyone was just so happy about winning the game that night, and things just happened and... I wasn't thinking."

"Clearly you were," I snapped back. "You had to be thinking about me. Were you even thinking of me, Zoe? Because I sure as hell was probably thinking of you that night."

"I'm so sorry," Tears were in her eyes now. "You have every right to be angry with me. You were good - you were a great boyfriend. I was a terrible girlfriend."

I chuckled. _Yeah, terrible girlfriend alright._

"You know," I sat up. "I don't know what if I'm more mad at you - or myself."

She looked at me, confused.

"I believed you when you told me that Maya was lying. I watched myself make Maya cry, I defended you." I shook my head. "I called her a bitch. And _you_," I chuckled. "You put her through so much shit. I let that all happen. So I guess I'm really the one to blame, right?"

"Zig this isn't your fault. I'm the one who had sex with someone else," Zoe cried. "I just - I don't want to loose you completely. Although it doesn't seem like it, you meant a lot to me."

"You looked me in the eye - and _lied_ to me." I stood up, throwing my napkin on the table. "You _lost_ me, completely."

"You know," I began, softly. "I made sure to be so _gentle_ with you, knowing with your assault, you might not be ready." She began speaking, but I cut her off. "_Don't _try telling me I'm calling you a victim, I'm not calling you a victim, Zoe. I respected you, I made sure you were always comfortable, and you go off and give yourself to some random jackass jock?" I stared at her for a second. I regretted bringing up the whole 'assault' thing, although I was hurt, I shouldn't have brought it up. But I needed to get that out.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. I thought about saying "it's okay," or something like that, but instead, I looked at her and nodded. She took my hand, and instead of yanking it away, I let her hold it for a second, until I separated it from her.

"Goodbye, Zoe." I whispered.

And with that, I was out of the doors.

* * *

><p>(MAYA'S P.O.V.)<p>

Since Tristan was going to Miles after school, and trust me, I didn't want to sit there watching them cuddle, I had to get a ride from Owen. I didn't mind, talking to Owen was always nice.

He took me to Little Missteaks, the best food place probably ever. It brought back so many memories, with Zig and Tori, with Tristan and karaoke night.

"So how's the leg been holdin' up?" Owen asked, setting my crutches under the table.

"It hurts," I shrugged. "But I've been sucking it up."

"That's what I like to hear, Matlin." He nodded.

"So Owen," I propped my elbows on the table. "How about you? Are you ever going to tell me why you left school?"

He sat there, and then chuckled. "I told you, I had a lot to deal with at home."

"No you didn't," I shook my head. "If anything was happening at home, Tristan would have told me. And from the looks of it, everything is fine here," I paused. "Except the fact that I got shot in the leg...but before that everything was fine, so don't lie to me."

He was silent.

"What happened, Owen?" I asked.

"It's a long story," he sighed.

"Well I have time, considering I can't just walk out." I giggled.

"I got myself tied up with the wrong group," he began. "I was stressing about school, and my buddy introduced me to these guys who did all certain kinds of..."

_"Drugs?"_ I gasped, and he nodded.

"I did it once, and then figured I shouldn't. So I didn't, but I guess I agreed to give those guys the answers to their upcoming exam. I was probably too high off my ass." he sighed. "And so I did. They seemed like pretty tough guys, and I was worried that if I didn't go through with it, they would get really mad."

"And..."

"And then I got caught."

"Owen..."

"Yeah."

"Owen no," I covered my mouth. "Did you get kicked out?"

"Not yet," Owen replied. "I haven't attended any of my classes in two weeks, I'm too worried to go back."

"Owen not going to your classes are probably making it ten times worse," I was so shocked.

"I told my other professors I had a family problem at home. Luckily, they heard about the school shooting, and figured that's what it was about."

"Is the professor of the class you cheated in...going to report you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I have no idea," he shook his head. "He seemed pretty pissed. I was one of his best students."

I couldn't imagine Owen ever cheating. I mean, he was a dumbass most of the time. He was a dumbass last year, he was what you can call a "stuck up jock", but when it came to grades, he was always an A+ kind of guy, except in Algebra.

"Owen you have to go back," I urged, but I made sure to be gentle with my words. "Maybe if you just talked to him..."

"And told him what? That I was just a little 'stressed out', did some drugs, and gave these guys the answers to an exam?" He sighed again, he was worried. I can tell his hands were sweating. I didn't know what to say. Exams in college were important, and from what I hear from Katie, they can care less about the student themselves. All they care about is getting their jobs done. At least that's how most of them are in her college.

"Well I know for sure, that avoiding the problem won't get you anywhere," I said, grabbing his hand. "Who knows, maybe you will just get kicked out of the class."

"Yeah, one of the most important classes I need for this semester," he frowned. I squeezed his hand. It was hard seeing him so worried. He was practically my brother. A cool, big brother.

"Go back, Owen." I softly said. "You _need_ to. The Owen I know isn't a quitter. If you get kicked out of the class...well you get kicked out. But college was always your dream, and maybe you can save yourself if you just go back."

He looked at me. I was surprised he was really listening. He was a 19 year old man now, listening to a 16 year old telling him that he needs to go back to school. I knew he was embarrassed, and I felt bad for him.

"I know, I will." he nodded. "After we get food in our systems, I'm starving." He laughed, opening his menu. I giggled back. So he was finally going back. I was satisfied, I got to him.

"Thanks for always looking out for me, Owen." I said. "You're the best fake big brother I could ask for."

He smiled, nodding his head.

"I know."

* * *

><p>(ZIG'S P.O.V.)<p>

After the Dot with Zoe, I went straight back to the Matlins. Ms. Matlin was home, which I didn't mind, obviously. She was in the kitchen making dinner when I got home.

"You know," she giggled. "Having Maya on crutches is double the amount of stress in this house hold." She pointed to her crutches.

"You need help, Ms. Matlin?" I chuckled, walking over to her.

"Okay, quit calling me Ms. Matlin. You've been living here for three months now." She chuckled, stirring the noodles in the pot. "And yes, help would be nice. You can start with those onions over there," she smirked at me, knowingly. She knew how bad I was with onions.

"Very funny," I smiled back.

"No, I don't need help, Zig." She playfully smacked my arm. I thought about going upstairs, but I sat at the counter, instead. Of my three months living here, I've obviously spoken to Ms. Matlin, had conversations with her about school, the usual. But that was usually it. We would also talk when we ate meals, usually when Maya was around.

"Can I ask you something?" I sat at the counter, and she turned around to face me, whipping her hands on her apron.

"Sure, shoot."

"I don't mean to pry in your business or anything, but...your ex husband like...cheated on you, right?"

She nodded.

"Don't worry, hun. You can ask me these questions. He did."

"How did you feel afterwards?"

She was silent at first. She was thinking.

"I felt betrayed, more for my daughters. I was astonished he could do that to me...but to his daughters? That made me feel worse." She paused. "Zoe, right?"

I nodded.

"Maya tells me everything," she said. "It's okay to feel sad, angry, hurt." She advised. "I'm surprised though - Zoe seemed like a sweet girl."

"Yeah," I slowly nodded. "I know."

"You'll meet someone amazing Zig, I know you will." She pointed her spoon at me. "You have a big heart. I wish Maya would date someone like you."

She then smirked at me. I knowingly smiled back.

"Just remember," she turned around. "_Momma knows everything_," she sang. I silently laughed, grabbing my jacket and heading upstairs.

* * *

><p>It was around 9PM, I was listening to music when I heard someone coming up the stairs. I knew it was Maya, I could hear her swearing under her breath. I opened my door, and saw her struggling up the stairs.<p>

"Aw," I giggled. "Does someone need help?"

She looked up at me, giving me a dirty look, but smirking. I went over to her, and decided to swoop her up into my arms. She held her crutches in one hand, her other arm wrapped around my neck. She was hesitant at first, shocked as to what I was doing. I carried her into her room, setting her on her bed.

"You didn't have to do that, Zig." She giggled.

"I know," I said. "But it's okay, you're not too heavy." I joked, and she smacked my leg, and it actually kind of hurt that time.

"Okay," I laughed. "Not everyone in this household needs a bad leg." I sat at the end of her bed, as I watched her get situated. I don't know if it was the lighting, or the way she was laying, but she looked beautiful. It was something about her - the way her long, curly hair rested on her shoulders, ending right above her chest. Or the way the light showed all of her best features of her face, or the mascara she was wearing, but she looked beautiful.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, and I came back to focus. I had been staring at her.

"You look rather extraordinary tonight, Maya Matlin." I giggled, trying to keep cool.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Sure I do."

I waited a few seconds before opening my mouth again.

"No, Maya. You do look nice." I smiled, and it was silent, but she slowly smiled back.

"Thanks," she blushed. I thought about saying something else, but I couldn't find words.

"I should probably," I pointed to the door, getting up. "You should rest."

"Zig," she stopped me. "Wait."

"What is it?" I said, turning around.

"Stay in here tonight,"

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED...<strong>

**No seriously, it's to be continued. Right from there. I know, I'm mean. But hey, it's whatever, right? **

**xoxo :)**


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